According to official statistics, tomato prices in wholesale marketplaces in most producing states have fallen to as low as Rs 4 per kg due to supply glut. In fact, wholesale tomato prices in 23 of the 31 government-monitored growing centers were 50% lower than a year earlier, or below the three-year seasonal average.
The early kharif (summer) tomato crop of the 2021-22 crop year (July-June) is now being harvested. According to the statistics, the wholesale price of tomato in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, the country's leading tomato-growing state, decreased to Rs 8 per kg on August 28 this year, down from Rs 11 the previous year.
Likewise, the wholesale price of tomato in Jalgoan, Maharashtra, the nation's sixth-largest tomato-growing state, dropped by 80% to Rs 4 per kg on August 28 from Rs 21 per kg the previous year.
In the year-ago period, tomato prices in Aurangabad fell to Rs 4.50 per kg from Rs 9.50 per kg, in Solapur to Rs 5 per kg from Rs 15 per kg, and in Kolhapur to Rs 6.50 per kg from Rs 25 per kg.
"The supply glut has put downward pressure on prices in major growing areas. Because of the favorable weather, the tomato production has been excellent "P K Gupta, Acting Director of the National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF), said PTI.
According to him, tomato output for the summer early Kharif season is expected to be higher than last year, and farmers can be spared from dropping prices if food processing businesses step in to help.
Without a doubt, the favorable weather has aided crop production, but farmers' proclivity to produce crops whose prices were higher at the time of sowing has also contributed to increased output, he noted.
"While production is greater, prices are pushed down," Gupta explained.
As per government data, the wholesale price of tomato in Kolar, Karnataka, the country's 4th largest tomato-growing state, fell to Rs 5.30 per kg on August 28 from Rs 18.70 per kg the previous year, while the wholesale price of tomato in Chickkaballapura fell to Rs 7.30 per kg from Rs 18.50 per kg the previous year.
Meanwhile, in Andhra Pradesh, the country's 2nd largest tomato-growing state, the wholesale price decreased to Rs 18.50 per kg from Rs 40 per kg in Palamaner, Chitoor district.
Prices in Palamaner and two other cities in Chitoor district, Madanpalle and Mulakalacheruvu, have dropped dramatically from the previous year. And the government's 'Operation Green' initiative has selected these three centers as development clusters.
Prices in Uttar Pradesh decreased to Rs 8-20 per kilogram on August 28 this year, down from Rs 14-28 per kg the previous year.
The wholesale price of tomato in West Bengal fell from Rs 34-65 per kg in several growing regions to Rs 25-32 per kg in the same time, according to the statistics. Wholesale tomato prices fell in both consumer and wholesale markets.
The wholesale price of tomato in Delhi's Azadpur mandi fell to Rs 24 per kg on August 28 from Rs 36 per kg a year earlier. In the same period, the wholesale price of tomato in Mumbai fell to Rs 12 per kg from Rs 30 per kg, while in Bengaluru, it fell to Rs 8 per kg from Rs 30 per kg.
According to the Agriculture Ministry's second advance estimate, tomato output in India increased by 2.20 percent to 21 million tonnes in the 2020-21 crop year (July-June) from 20.55 million tonnes the previous year.
