As the rains lash parts of the countries, tomato prices have soared in the national capital. Tomato prices in Delhi markets have surged to Rs 90 per kg. This is as supplies have been hit due to the monsoon rains in many states.
In the major wholesale vegetable markets in Delhi, including Azadpur mandi, Ghazipur mandi, and Okhla sabzi mandi, rates of tomatoes have gone up.
Tomatoes, which were being sold for Rs 28 per kg a few days back, are now reportedly being sold for Rs 90 per kg online and in the local markets. Rates have gone up to as much as Rs 50 per kg in the wholesale markets.
The supply of tomatoes has dipped in the past one week. The number of trucks ferrying tomatoes from states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Himachal has decreased due to the heavy rains affecting transportation.
A vendor in the Ghazipur mandi said that tomato rates were in the Rs 30-35 per kg range but has now soared to Rs 60-70 per kilo. A vendor in Okhla mandi said that due to damage to crops because of the rains the prices of tomatoes have gone up. Moreover, tomatoes do not have a long shelf life, leading them to rot very quickly. Supplies have been, hence, impacted due to the rains.
Meanwhile, according to Crisil’s monthly food price report, the cost of home-cooked vegetarian thali increased by 10 per cent year-on-year due to a surge in prices of tomato, onion, and potato by 30 per cent, 46 per cent, and 59 per cent, respectively. The rise in prices was largely attributed to a low base from the last fiscal year. The report cited lower onion arrivals due to a significant drop in rabi acreage, a decline in potato crop yield because of unseasonal rainfall in March, and virus infestation in the tomato summer crop due to high temperatures in key growing regions of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, which reduced tomato arrivals by 35 per cent on-year.
(With PTI inputs)
