Tomatoes soar to Rs 60-

80 a kg in retail
After a period of normalcy that lasted over a year and a half, tomato prices have

escalated to Rs 60-80 per kg in retail markets across the country , including

Mumbai. There is no definite cause for the increase, with middlemen at Vashi APMC

blaming ambiguous causes--from November's demonetisation to the farmers' strike

in June as well as inclement weather.

Contrary to traders' claims there is no visible shortage either. Good quality ,

robust red tomatoes are available at all markets in Mumbai. Curiously , retail rates

are rising even as wholesale rates continue to fall. A PMC trader Shyam Ya dav said,

Wholesale ra tes rose to Rs 55-60 per kg over Friday-Saturday . On Monday , they

dropped to Rs 36-40.

Conversely , retail rates were Rs 35-40 per kg over FridaySaturday , perhaps

due to leftover stocks, which spiralled to Rs 60-80 Monday as retailers charged their

pound of flesh. I bought half a kilo for Rs 30 to tide over the next two days. But

how long can we continue like this? said Andheri resident Shaila Grover.

Tomato is a household staple and moreover, Shravan is set to begin on July 10

for north Indian communities and July 24 for Maharashtrians and Gujaratis. During

this time, families avoid onion and garlic and rely on tomato. One of the largest

middlemen in the tomato trade at APMC Vashi, Javed Memon, cited a slew of

reasons which seemed tough to swallow. This price increase is an outcome of

notebandi. Recently, there was also the farmers' strike. Moreover, I am told the

seeds have failed in south India. So this season we are relying on tomatoes from

Maharashtra where a heat wave has beset certain growing areas.Also, remember

that farmers have not been getting a good rate for their produce since the past year

and a half. It is time they made some money .

 Asked when customers would get relief, Memon said, Don't think of

customers.Why think of customers alone, think of the farmer as well.

TOI asked if farmers were getting good rates at present.Well, not to their

satisfaction.After all, the quality of their tomatoes is poor, the middleman said,

adding prices would remain high till end-August.