The extensive crop damage caused by pre-monsoon showers, coupled with supply bottlenecks have jacked up tomato prices in major wholesale markets in India, including Delhi.
Tomato prices in Delhi’s Azadpur Mandi, touted as Asia’s biggest wholesale agro market, have shot up nearly 800 per cent over the past month from Rs three per kg from the beginning of the month to Rs 17.5 and quoting higher, with top quality tomato now quoting at Rs 30 plus. In Mumbai’s Vashi mandi prices were up in a month from Rs 13 to Rs 24.5 per kg.
The strict quarantine rules and past lockdown protocols had also prevented the traders and middlemen from visiting the agricultural farms for contracting for the purchase of the crop, thus disrupting the normal supply chain comprising ready sellers and buyers. It has now started to bite in the form of substantial hike in prices even as harvest season picks up pace in the tomato producing states.
“While, the supply is weak from Maharashtra and down South, the Himachal Pradesh border is closed and the traders avoid travelling to the state, since they are required to serve 14 day quarantine period. This has further led to cut in supplies to Delhi,” Azadpur Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee member and prominent trader Anil Malhotra told Business Standard. He said supply will normalise in next few weeks..
Against the daily supply of more than 50 truckloads of tomato last month, the supplies have dipped by more than 50 per cent to less than 25 trucks a day in Azadpur Mandi now.
Mumbai-based vegetable trader and former director of Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) Shankar Pingle said there was short supply in the market, primarily due to the damage caused by rains to the standing crop in the state.
“The wholesale tomato prices in the Vashi market are in the range of Rs 20-30 per kg. The prices are much steeper in Delhi, since it gets bulk supplies from distant states like Maharashtra and Karnataka,” he informed.
“At this time of year, tomato crop is chiefly available in Maharashtra and Karnataka only. Since, loading and transportation to faraway markets, such as Delhi takes several days, while rainfall also reduces the tomato shelf life, the prices normally rise during June-July period,” he observed.
According to Union agri ministry estimates production is expected to jump nearly 8 per cent 19 million tonnes (MT) in 2018-19 to 20.6 MT in 2019-20.
Meanwhile, tomato-based food processing industry is slowly witnessing an uptick in institutional demand for products like ketchup etc with gradual lifting of lockdown and opening up of hotels and restaurants.
“The institutional demand for tomato based processed food is still low, but starting to rise. However, the household demand for these products continues to be robust,” Meerut-based Arora Foods managing director Kushal Arora said.
Besides, the major food processing units also have a ready inventory of both raw and processed tomato to suffice for 3-4 months to insulate from any abrupt demand-supply situation that may arise.