Tomato prices soar to ₹155/kg! Highest in Kolkata among metros; check latest rates here

Retail tomato prices have shot up to ₹155 per kg across major cities in the country due to the supply disruption caused over heavy rains amid monsoons in the producing region, according to official data. In metro cities, retail tomato prices were ruling in the range of ₹58-148 per kg, with the highest in Kolkata at ₹148 per kg and lowest in Mumbai at ₹58 per kg.

In Delhi and Chennai, prices were ruling at ₹110 per kg and 117 per kg, respectively. According to data maintained by the consumer affairs ministry, the average all-India retail price was ₹83.29 per kg, with a modal price of ₹100 per kg. The highest ₹155 per kg was in Siliguri, West Bengal, the data showed.

Also Read: Tomato prices to cool down by first fortnight of July in THIS state

Meanwhile, in the national capital, the local vendors are selling tomato in the range of ₹120-140 per kg depending on the quality and locality.

"We have purchased best quality tomato at ₹120 per kg from Azadpur wholesale market and selling at ₹140 per kg in retail," local vendor Jyotish Kumar Jha in Paschim Vihar told news agency PTI.

The supply has been disrupted in the last two week from the producing states, where harvesting and transportation have been affected. The government has maintained that the current spike in tomato prices is a seasonal phenomenon, and around this time, prices generally remain high. The prices are expected to cool down in the next 15 days and normalise in a month.

India's consumer price index (CPI) inflation eased sharply to 4.25 per cent in May hitting a 25-month low and came under the Reserve Bank of India's upper tolerance limit of 6 per cent for the third straight month. May's retail inflation declined from 4.7 per cent recorded in April 2023 and 7.04 per cent in the year-ago period (May 2022).

The consumer food price index (CFPI) eased to 2.91 per cent in May from 3.84 per cent in April. Rural inflation in May stood at 4.17 per cent while urban inflation stood at 4.27 per cent, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on June 12. The government will release retail inflation for June 2023 on July 12.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Marketing Commissioner Rahul Pandey said last week that the fluctuations in tomato prices will settle down by the first fortnight of July in Andhra Pradesh. He added that one crop just got over and another is in the process of reaching the market.

In Andhra Pradesh, three tomato crops cultivate a year and the short gaps between these crops sometimes create price fluctuations, according to news agency PTI.

“Tomato (prices) will settle within a week. This is routine, nothing to panic about it. Within a short period, things will settle down because one crop is getting over. We get three crops of tomatoes every year," Pandey told PTI.