Kolar (Karnataka): Tomato prices are increasing daily across the country. The tomato, which is known as the 'kitchen queen', now has a huge demand. On Tuesday, July 11, a 15 kg box of tomatoes was auctioned for Rs 2,200 at Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), Kolar, setting a record.
A 15 kg tomato box was sold by Venkataramana of Vijakur village of the Chikkaballapur district for Rs 2,200. The APMC market in Kolar is the second largest market in Asia and traders from across India come here to buy vegetables. Recently there is a strong demand for tomatoes.
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Venkataramana has grown tomatoes on his one-acre farm. He brought 36 boxes to the APMC market and earned a huge income. Kolar and Chikkaballapur district produces the highest number of tomatoes in Karnataka. The districts have a favorable climate for growing tomatoes.
Sources in the APMC Kolar said that tomato prices have been increasing by Rs 100 to 200 every day for the last month. The rise in tomato prices that started in the second week of June continues even today. They added that there is a huge demand for tomatoes from areas like Delhi, Nashik in Maharashtra, Gujrat, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and even Bangladesh.
According to sources, tomatoes are affected by a particular virus in the Kolar region and hence farmers are unable to grow the crop in large numbers. Also, due to incessant rains in north India, tomato yield is damaged. As the demand is high and the supply is less, prices have skyrocketed.
