Tomato prices have jumped three-fold in a span of three weeks at the Madanapalle agriculture market, Asia’s largest trading centre for tomatoes. From ₹12 a kg for the first grade on June 1, the price has shot up to ₹36 on Monday, as per the official records. The second variety too saw a sharp rise from ₹8 a kg to ₹27.
This sudden phenomenon is considered the first-of-its-kind in the region in a decade. The wholesale demand is expected to touch ₹50-70 in a couple of weeks due to declining stock arrivals. Trade analysts predict a possible repeat of 2015 scenario when the retail price of tomatoes touched ₹150-200 a kg. Due to dwindling stocks, on Monday, about 1,000 metric tonnes were traded as against 1,700 tonnes on June 1.
Prices remain steady
Marketing and horticulture officials maintain that despite COVID-19 lockdown, prices remained rather steady at the Madanapalle market and in the last three months never slipped below ₹5 a kg, considered the threshold limit to avoid losses. Throughout May, the retail price remained in the ₹10-15 range for the third quality, while the first and second varieties found their way to metropolitan cities for a higher price.
A.V. Eeshwar Reddy, a young farmer from Mulakalacheruvu mandal in the region, attributed the sudden spike in the tomato price to dismal yields in the neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Due to the COVID-19 threat, many farmers in the southern States either stayed away from active cultivation or couldn’t transport their produce to markets causing shortage in the domestic markets there and spurred exports from Madanapalle region since first week of June.
Tomato’s nutritional value also seems to have fuelled demand for it from a section of public conscious of improving immunity to face coronavirus.
Further shortage likely
On the other hand, tomato yields are likely to come down further between July and October due to rains, which could lead to its further shortage.