On Sunday, the wholesale price of the first variety of tomato per box (10 kg) stood at ₹428 and that of the second variety stood at ₹270, and the arrival of stocks was around 240 tonnes at the Madanapalle tomato market, considered the largest in Asia.
The scenario brought dismay among hundreds of tomato growers in the Madanapalle division.
While only a small number of farmers could harvest minimal crop, a majority of the growers deplored that their yields plummeted to the worst level. The stunted size of the produce only worsened the situation for them.
Contrastingly, in May 2018, the average arrival of stocks per day into the market stood at 1,600 tonnes, and the wholesale price of the first variety was ₹270 to ₹300 per box. The retail price of the second variety in various local markets across the district stood at ₹40 on Sunday. The juice variety, considered scrap in market parlance, was sold for ₹50 per 3 kg. The first variety is purely meant for exports to supermarkets and the hotel industry in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Drought
The prime reasons for the dismal state of affairs in Chittoor district is attributed to early summer this year, and failure of rains since last three years.
Madanapalle division, known for its cooler climates (temperature used to hover over 35-37° Celsius till a few years ago), is experiencing scorching heat for the last three years with the mercury breaching the 39° C-mark.
The division, where the crop is grown in an extent of about 10,000 hectares, has been witnessing deficit to absolutely no rainfall since 2016.
Coming as an exception, the division saw rains in February and March in 2018, helping the tomato farmers to harvest bumper crops.
However, drought condition has returned to the region this year.
Tomato trade expert and former chairman of the Madanapalle tomato market Ratakonda Gurappa Naidu said the prospects of farmers turned dismal this year.
“Usually, the trade picks up immediately after Sankranti. This year, rains have totally evaded the region. A small number of farmers could withstand the climatic stress. Compared to May last year, when 1,620 tonnes arrived, the arrivals this year slumped to just 200 tonnes, or even below,” he said.
Mr. Naidu observed that at least one spell of rain was direly needed, else the gloomy condition would escalate further in the coming months.
“The farmers are now totally depending on the monsoon, with most bore-wells going bone dry,” he said.