Prices of tomato plummet in Tiruchi

Tomato prices in Tiruchi markets plummet due to heavy arrival, with high quality tomatoes selling at ₹15/kg.

The price of tomato has plummeted in the city markets with a kilo of high quality tomato being sold at ₹15 by retail traders at the Gandhi Market on Tuesday.

Second grade varieties were sold between ₹10 and ₹13. In the wholesale market, a box of tomato weighing 25 kg was quoted at ₹350.

The prices of tomato were hovering around ₹50 to ₹60 a kg during the Pongal holidays. It went up marginally on account of marriage season in the Tamil month of ‘Thai’. The prices were moderate in the third and fourth weeks of February. The prices continued to slid after that.

The traders attribute heavy arrival of tomato the reason for the downward trend in the prices of tomato. The Tiruchi market require about 15 to 18 loads of tomato for meeting the requirements of the people in Tiruchi and its adjoining areas. However, it receives about 25 loads. In addition to the supply from Bengaluru and Andhra Pradesh, the traders get tomato from Pollachi, Oddanchathiram, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Hosur, Udumalpettai and other places of the State. The Tiruchi market also receives loads from Manapparai, Vaiyampatti, Marungapuri and Ariyalur,

To cash in on the cheap prices, a number of hawkers have hired mini load carriers to sell tomatoes at the doorsteps of customers. They quote ₹50 for three kg of high quality tomatoes.

“Since tomato is a highly perishable commodity, we cannot store it for more than a day. We have to exhaust the entire arrival almost on a daily basis. The prices would naturally come down if the arrival is more than the requirement,” says M.K. Kamalakannan, a tomato trader at Gandhi market.

He said that out of ₹350 for a box containing 25 kg box, nearly ₹300 would have been spent for harvesting, loading and unloading, middlemen and transportation. Farmers would get just about ₹50 (Rs.2 a kg). It was highly insufficient to meet the overheads on raising tomato.