The prices of tomatoes that had touched nearly ₹200 per kg in July have crashed to below ₹10 per kg in the Kolar and Kalasipalyam wholesale markets on September 6. In retail stores in Bengaluru, prices are in the range of ₹15-₹20 per kg, and are expected to come down to ₹10 by the weekend.
This has left farmers staring at severe losses. There have been several instances of tomatoes being unsold in auctions and being dumped on the streets by angry farmers in Kolar, the second largest tomato market in Asia.
Kolar served as the lifeline for tomatoes for almost the whole of India between May and July when the crop had failed everywhere else. In the first week of July, a box of 15 kg of tomatoes sold at a record ₹2,200 while the price was in the range of ₹100 - ₹150 per box on September 6.
