Farmers Movement Archive

At Rs 80/kg, tomato goes off the menu

High prices of vegetables, especially tomatoes, are burning a hole in the pockets of consumers as the commodity is selling at Rs80 a kg in the market. A month ago, the prices were as low as Rs15 a kg.Farmers said at the time of peak production, a crate of tomatoes weighing 20 to 25 kg was sold at Rs50 in the Vallah sabzi mandi. Now its price has shot up to Rs500. However, as local farmers have already harvested the crop, only traders and farmers who had stored the product in cold storage facilities are making the most of price rise.The tomato being a must ingredient in all summer season vegetables, residents are forced to buy it even at the high price. But many have decided to go without tomatoes. Even the price of cucumber, which was Rs10 a kg around a month ago, has now reached Rs80 a kg.Prices of other vegetables, too, have shot up as during the rains, the production goes down. More rains are not conducive for vegetable crops as these result in the growth of weeds. “Most farmers prefer to sow basmati by clearing their fields, so the supply of vegetables reduces,” said Nirmal Singh, a farmer.Lakhbir Singh Nizampura, the president of the Vegetable Growers Organisation, said: “Local farmers sow basmati after uprooting the tomato plants. At present, it (tomato) is either coming from other states or from cold stores.”Nizampura said farmers and end consumers were always at a loss and traders always ended up earning huge profits from the price rise. “When farmers sold tomato at Rs2 a kg earlier this season, its retail price was still around Rs15 a kg. — TNS

The Tribune

2020-07-16

Amritsar