Hyderabad: The price of tomato has soared to Rs 40 a kg and vendors say that the day-to-day prices vary according to availability in the markets. A fortnight ago, tomatoes were being sold for only Rs 20 per kg. Moti Ganeshan, a vendor at the wholesale market in Secunderabad said, “The tomato crop has suffered due to pests. For this reason there is a sudden dip in the supply of tomatoes.”
Meanwhile, there are a few farmers who are nt willing to sell their produce at the market as they do not get the standard price. Raghunath Reddy said, “The problem is that the traders are not willing to give a proper price to the farmers. When it is known that there is excess or good crop, the traders or middlemen try to exploit them and for that reason some farmers prefer not to sell their produce and allow it to rot. This is a major problem and it requires strict intervention from the agriculture department to control it.”
