Rains and high demand push tomato prices up in Dharmapuri

DHARMAPURI:  Dharmapuri residents claim that the price of tomatoes has nearly quadrupled in the past few weeks, with 1 kg of tomato costing over Rs 35 in the retail markets.

In Dharmapuri, tomatoes are cultivated in around 6,172 hectares. Owing to the climatic conditions and the increase in demand due to Onam, the prices have gone up. The disruption of the supply chain from parts of Karnataka has further led to the abrupt price hike of tomato.

G Manigandan, a tomato farmer from Dharmapuri told TNIE, “One of the biggest reasons of the price hike is the southwest monsoon, which has resulted in less production and hence, the rise in price. Usually, the shell life of tomatoes reduces during monsoon and sometimes they rot on the plant itself.”

R Sankar, a vegetable vendor said, “Apart from climatic conditions, there was an increase in demand in Kerala and Karnataka. This has made many people selling their produce to the states for more profit.”

Officials in the agriculture marketing department said, “We had expected that the prices of tomatoes would go up to Rs 60 per kg this year. The supply chain of tomatoes has decreased as Karnataka, one of the major producers of tomatoes, is affected by monsoon.”