Tomatoes prices may surge more than ₹100 kg: Report

The prices of tomatoes are set to shoot up more than ₹100 per kilo because of the severe short supply, according to a report by The Hindu. Last week, the rates of tomatoes had shot up to over ₹80 level. The English daily mentioned that a 15-kg crate of tomatoes was sold for ₹1,100 in Kolar wholesale APMC market on Sunday. The effect of this will be seen in the retail market in the city soon.

A farmer told the daily about the rise in tomato price saying that the sowing of the fruit was lower this year as compared to the previous year. Anji Reddy told The Hindu that farmers in Kolar switched to the sowing of beans this year as the prices of beans skyrocketed last year. However due to deficient monsoon crops dried up. The tomatoes would be only 30% of the usual.

Farmers' lack of interest in tomato cultivation stems from the crash in the price of the crop last month. In May, tomato rates crashed to ₹3-5 per kg. Many farmers were forced to throw away their produce by driving tractors through the crop.

With tomato deficiency in Maharashtra, buyers are moving to West Bengal, Odisha, and even for export to Bangladesh to meet demands.

In Delhi's Azadpur wholesale market, the tomato rate has doubled in the last two days. A tomato trader told the Economic Times that they are not receiving tomatoes from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana due to shortage and now relying on Bengaluru for supply.

Apart from onions and potatoes, the prices of other vegetables have gone northward. The price of a kg of beans is in the range of ₹120- ₹140, prices of some varieties of carrots are inching the ₹100 mark, and capsicum prices have crossed ₹80 per kg. In addition to vegetables, egg prices have surged in the range of ₹7- ₹8 kilos.

Hotels menus likely to see a price increase

The Bruhat Bengaluru Hotels' Association (BBHA) has said that the price hike on the menu was inevitable if the vegetable price moved upward.