The prices of tomatoes are soon expected to shoot up to Rs 100 per kilogram, according to a report in The Hindu. Tomatoes are severely short in supply and prices had already touched the Rs 80 per kilogram mark last week, the report said.
As a result of delayed monsoon and the possibility of weak rainfall in parts of India, a consistent increase in the prices of other vegetables and pulses has been witnessed.
The Hindu reported that a 15 kilogram crate of tomatoes was sold for Rs 1,100 in Kolar wholesale APMC market on Sunday and this is expected to further push up the prices in the retail market in the city soon.
Anji Reddy, a tomato farmer from Kolar was quoted by the publication as saying, “The sowing of tomato this year is lower than the previous years, for various reasons. Many farmers in Kolar shifted to beans this year, as the price of beans skyrocketed last year. However, due to deficient monsoons crops have dried up and wilted. The tomato crop in the district may be only 30 percent of the usual.”
Excepting onions and potatoes, most other vegetables are being sold at prices higher than usual. The price of a kilogram of beans is in the range of Rs 120 to Rs 140, carrots are being sold at Rs 100, and the price per kilogram of capsicum has breached Rs 80 mark.
Elsewhere, the cost of eggs has also risen and an egg is being sold in the range of Rs 7 to Rs 8, up from earlier rates of Rs 5 to Rs 6.
The capital of Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal has already started to witness vegetable price surge, reported the daily. Last week, Free Press Journal had also reported that tomatoes that cost Rs 10 per kilogram till the week before in Bhopal are now being sold at Rs 100 per kilogram.
