A box of 15 kg of tomatoes was sold at a whopping ₹2,200 on Tuesday at the APMC Yard in Kolar, that has become the nerve-centre for tomato procurement for large parts of the country, thus pushing the prices even higher in the retail market.
The price of tomatoes at Kolar APMC on Tuesday was one of the highest, while some industry insiders claimed it was the highest ever. Sources said that in 2021, it had gone up to ₹2,000 a box.
While this has provided a windfall for tomato growers in Kolar and neighbouring Chickballapur districts, this essentially means the wholesale price of a kg of tomato is almost ₹147, which is expected to cost over ₹20 more by the time it reaches the retail market in the city.
“If this trend continues and the prices go up further, it will not be too long before a kg of tomato costs ₹200 in the city,” a senior procurement officer of a prominent retail grocery chain said.
Tomato crop has failed in many places across the country, including in Nashik, Maharashtra, which is one of the main suppliers of tomatoes across the country.
Kolar and Chickballapur districts are the leading tomato growing areas and the main supplier for South India. Since the Nashik crop has failed, procurers from West Bengal, Bangladesh and Odisha in addition to those from the southern States are all camping in Kolar APMC bidding for the limited supply of tomatoes, sending the prices sky high. What has skewed the situation even further is that due to low prices tomatoes fetched last year, the sowing is relatively lesser this year and the yield has been lesser due to white fly disease and curly leaves disease, sources said.
