Quality tomato sells at ₹15 per kg as prices plummet
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 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 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, but they continued to slid after that.
Traders attribute heavy arrival of tomato to the downward trend in the price of the vegetable. Tiruchi market requires about 15 to 18 loads of tomato to meet the requirements of the people in Tiruchi andadjoining areas. However, it receives about 25 loads.
In addition to supply from Bengaluru and Andhra Pradesh, the traders get tomato from Pollachi, Oddanchathiram, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Hosur, Udumalpettai and other places in Tamil Nadu
The Tiruchi market also receives loads from Manapparai, Vaiyampatti, Marungapuri and Ariyalur.
To cash in on the cheap prices, a number of hawk
Heavy arrivals have led to a steep decrease in price of tomato in Tiruchi.
ers have hired mini load carriers to sell tomatoes at the doorstep 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. Kamala
kannan, a tomato trader at Gandhi market.
Out of ₹350 for a box containing 25 kg, nearly ₹300 would have been spent for harvesting, loading and unloading, middlemen and transportation. Farmers would get just about ₹50 (₹2 a kg). It is highly insufficient to meet the overheads on raising tomato, he adds.
Traders foresee the trend continuing in April and May also.