Volatile tomato prices burning a hole in pocket

HYDERABAD: Yo-yoing prices of vegetables, particularly tomatoes, has left citizens confused. For, after sliding down from as high as Rs 70 per kg in the beginning of July, tomatoes are back to turning people red with anger at having to shell out anywhere between Rs 70 and Rs 100 per kg.

One kg of tomatoes, which was priced at Rs 38 in the state-run

Rythu Bazaar

last Tuesday, was back to reigning at Rs 70 per kg this Tuesday.

Confirming that prices have been spiraling out of control, the state agriculture department authorities said that it is highly unlikely that the situation will improve anytime soon because of a shortfall in tomato cultivation in the state.

Explaining the reason for fluctuating prices, B Babu, an officer of the department, said that after the initial price rise in the beginning of July (as heavy rainfall left standing crop damaged), the authorities began importing tomatoes from neighbouring states, bringing down prices for a while.

“Farmers in the state did not take up vegetable farming completely . If they had one acre of land, they only planted vegetables on one-fourth of it,“ said Babu, adding that only 65 % of the total area under vegetable cultivation in the state was planted this year.

Farmers are reportedly taking up partial planting to avoid facing losses due to na tural reasons, like last year's flooding or the drought-like situation that was prevalent over the state in the couple of years before that.

“Farmers say that they are not able to make any profits as their produce is being taken away by middle-men, who take the produce into the city markets. If this is the case, there is bound to be gaps in the demand and supply of vegetables in the city,“ said Naveen Ramsetty, state committee member, Rythu Swarajya Vedika.

The city, he said, procures nearly 90% of its vegetables from two places,

Kurnool

and

Madanapally

village in

Chittoor

district.