Adilabad (Telangana): Believe it or not, one tomato costs Rs 20 in Telangana's Adilabad. The price of tomatoes have been soaring across the state and last week the price was Rs 100 per kg. On Wednesday, the price has doubled with one kg costing Rs 200 in Rythu Bazar at Adilabad.
Adilabad district has a demand of around 50 tons a day. Tomato, which till recent times was cheaper among vegetables, is usually used as a flavour in any curry. Now, with a spike in its price, households are restricting on using one or two tomatoes in a week
Tomatoes are suitable for growing in rainfed conditions and are cultivated on 20,000 acres in the district. As tomato cultivators generally incur losses coupled with lack of government incentive, the cultivation area has been drastically reduced.
The tomatoes that are grown in the district reach the markets in the first week of September. At that time the price is below Rs 40. Later, if stocks come from other states, the price decreases leading to loss for the local farmers. After the monsoon season, tomatoes are purchased by many villages of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.
This time, heavy rains damaged the vegetable creating a shortage and suddenly the demand rose leading to a hike in the prices. Taking advantage of the situation, traders have worked in syndicate to increase the price. In some states, 25 kg of tomatoes cost Rs 2,500-3,000. Now, wholesalers sell it at Rs 3,500-4,000 after procuring it from those states. This means, the per kilo price should be Rs 140.
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Even if we consider the profit margin, it is expected that it will cost Rs 160 per kg. In view of the demand and shortfall, there has been an unprecedented price hike. A consumer has to pay Rs 200 per kg. A similar hike was recorded in chilies that are being sold at Rs 160 per kg. Most of the vegetables are priced over Rs 100.
