The spiralling price of tomatoes in open markets of Chittoor and Annamayya districts, which have the records of the largest acreage of the vegetable in Asia, has brought smiles to the farmers.
The price of the second-grade tomato varieties went up to ₹85 a kg in the open market, while the first-grade varieties meant for exports commanded a price beyond ₹100 a kg on June 28 (Wednesday). The wholesale price of the first-grade varieties stood at ₹82 a kg while the second-grade varieties were available for ₹68 a kg in Madanapalle.
Deputy Director (Horticulture) D. Madhusudhan Reddy attributed the sudden jump in prices to the sharp decline in production and high demand for the vegetable.
“The summer season has almost come to an end and the kharif has just begun. The supply is now from the fag-end harvesting. The tomato prices fell to the lowest levels from March till June second week and the farmers neglected the crops. They even stopped harvesting. Now, a predominant stretch of the tomato growing areas are damaged, limiting the production,” Mr. Madhusudhan Reddy told The Hindu.
“The tomato prices may start stabilising after August-end when the new crops will be ready for harvesting,” he added.
Exports resume
Despite the steep fall in production, the tomato growers of Chittoor and Annamayya districts are a happy lot with a boom in exports.
“Now, the Madanapalle market yard and markets at Valmikipuram, Palamaner, Gurramkonda, and Kalakada, are exporting tomatoes to Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and New Delhi. Tomato production in north India has been hit due to heavy rain and this has turned out to be a boon for us,” said Manjunath Kokkanti, a tomato farmer from Valmikipuram.
Another farmer, Srikanth, hailing from Gurramkonda mandal, said the scorching summer heat took a toll on the tomato crop in Annamayya district during the last three months. “The sudden fall in the production in north India prompted us to harvest whatever is left in our fields,” he said.
Blight in Kolar, Chintamani
Meanwhile, blight disease has affected vast stretches of the tomato belt in Kolar and Chintamani areas of Karnataka and this has also contributed to the spike in exports from the Madanapalle market.
During the last three days, the arrival of tomato stocks has crossed 1,200 tonnes. With commanding prices in the wholesale markets, a majority of the farmers have started rushing there, instead of depending on vendors in the open markets.
