The tomato crop is once again facing the problem of price crash in its major cultivation belt of Kolar due to glut in arrivals. But the irony is that while the farmers are getting a pittance for their crop, the consumers are also not benefitting from the price-crash situation as the retail price of tomato is still ruling high. A close look at the price situation shows that the middlemen are taking advantage of the situation.
Farmers are getting only Rs. 50 to Rs. 100 for a 15-kg box of the produce (Rs. 3.33 to Rs. 6.66 a kg) against the level of Rs. 300 a box about two days ago. But the consumers are still paying Rs. 15 to Rs. 20 a kg for this produce at retail shops.
Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) officials maintain that though there is a fall in the price of tomatoes, the situation is not as worse as those witnessed in earlier years.
Satyaraj, a tomato farmer of Bettani in Kolar district, said generally tomato crop witnesses price crash this time of the season due to glut in arrival as this season is conducive for tomato harvesting. As summer approaches, the cultivation of tomato, a water intensive crop, decreases, he said.
To prevent the glut situation, the authorities had carried out a campaign in the district to create awareness among farmers about the need to desist from flooding the market with the crop at this time of the season. As a result of this, there was no slump situation so far.
But what went wrong, according to APMC secretary G. Narayanaraju, is the large quantum of arrivals from Andhra Pradesh to Kolar market. “Of the total 2,000 quintal of tomato coming to the APMC yard here, only around 500 quintal is from local farmers. The remaining is from Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
