The supply of tomatoes in Indian markets has gone down due to disturbances in transport which skyrocketed the prices. While many consumers are not being able to afford it, the suppliers are witnessing huge profits from their sales.
A tomato farmer in Junnar Maharashtra made a profit of 2.4 crore rupees in the current season whereas last year his figures stood at 1.5 million. The eight-fold surge in tomato prices this season has made many farmers rich but reports say this will be a short-lived one as the supply of tomatoes is expected to increase in the coming weeks.
Ishwar Gaykar and his wife Sonali grow tomatoes in Junnar where they employ 60 to 70 daily workers to manage their 12 acres of field and has become one of the biggest suppliers of the vegetable in the region. After the news of his huge profit surfaced, the farmer has become a celebrity for the media outlets.
According to reports, Ishwar Gaykar shared his own story when he suffered a loss of about 2 million rupees, he said, "About one and a half months ago, tomatoes were fetching barely 2.5 rupees a kilogram" and continued saying, "Supply is thin, while demand remains strong."
Reportedly the farmer has supplied 350 tons of tomatoes in recent weeks and he expects that 150 tons more will be sold soon unless the weather conditions deteriorate. His farm is harvested thrice a year and the current crop is 120 to 140 days old.
Another farmer from Surat, Mahendra Nikam told the media, "I have never seen my produce getting this high a rate" after his tomatoes were sold at the rate of Rs 13 per kg. He also said, "Less than two months ago, farmers were literally forced to throw away tomatoes or feed the fruit-bearing plants to the cattle."
According to the food ministry, on Sunday the retail prices of tomatoes in Delhi were at 178 rupees a kg which is reportedly more than 700% from the price on Jan 1. The national tomato retail price average was almost 120 rupees that day.
The supply of tomatoes have affected due to heavy rains and several households in the country stopped buying them due to skyrocketing prices on the other hand, the suppliers are looking at huge profits in sales.
The extreme heat in India this year, the cyclone Biparjoy and the heavy rains in several areas of the country have all disrupted the harvesting of tomatoes in several farms and in recent weeks the heavy rains have disrupted the transport of the supplies to the markets causing even more scarcity of the vegetable making is more expensive than ever.
In some cities like Delhi, Lucknow and Patna the government is telling tomatoes at subsidised rates but a big part of the consumers in the country are still looking at huge prices for the vegetable.