With the heavy arrival of tomatoes from Talavadi and Andhra Pradesh, the price of the vegetable has dropped to ₹ 5 a kg at the Nethaji Wholesale Daily Vegetable and Fruit Market here on Wednesday.
The market that functions on the V.O.C. Park premises receives tomatoes from Talavadi in boxes and sells it to retailers across the district. About 3,800 boxes, each weighing 15 kg, arrives in the market and is sold for ₹ 280 to ₹ 350 a box. Since tomatoes are cultivated widely in Talavadi Hills, the arrival had increased in the past 10 to 15 days bringing down the price of the vegetable sharply, said Mani Anand, a wholesaler. He said the arrival of tomatoes from Andhra Pradesh had further pushed the price down as a box is sold anywhere between ₹ 50 and ₹ 80 on Wednesday. “It cannot be stored for more than three days and hence is sold at ₹ 5 a kg here,” he said.
The 90-day crop is cultivated in November and December every year and harvesting is done from March to April during which the wholesale price at times falls to ₹ 2 a kg. “Only if it rains heavily, the tomatoes rot in the plant pushing the price up,” said another trader.
Traders fear that with increase in arrival of tomatoes to the market, the price may go down further. “Arrival usually drops in May after which prices would go up,” they added. The retail price of tomato varies from ₹ 10 to ₹ 15 a kg across the district.
