Even as tomato prices hit a new high of ₹160 a kg in the retail markets all over the Rayalaseema region, the consumers decried that the vegetable vendors were taking undue advantage of the crisis and selling third-grade variety tomatoes to them at exorbitant prices.
On Monday, the wholesale price of the tomatoes for the first-grade variety stood at ₹104 per kg and that of the second-grade at ₹91.
The exports to the northern States and neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka peaked this week, and the consumers at many vegetable markets were irked, saying that even though they were ready to pay the exorbitant price, the first-grade quality was not available.
