Chennai: Blame it on the absence of adequate storage facilities or on the crop damage in the southern states due to the severe drought, tomatoes have turned costly in Tamil Nadu. A kilo of tomatoes is sold at Rs 80 in the retail market and it varies from Rs 90-Rs 100 in the retail.
Meanwhile, there is some positive news to cherish. The price of almost all the other vegetables have come down drastically, said traders, expecting a similar scenario for the next two months.
Chennai’s Koyambedu market, which sources the vegetables from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, is facing the heat, due to demand from northern states.
Traders said most tomatoes are being transported to Bihar and Odisha from the southern states due to increase in demand there. The situation is same through the state, due to the drought.
A large quantity of crop in southern states was damaged during the flowering season due to water scarcity, said A.P. Ravindran, district convener, Tamil Nadu farmers association.
“Expect the skyrocketing prices of tomatoes for 10 more days. The minimal produce from Andhra and Karnataka is now being transported to Orissa and Bihar,” said V.R. Soundarajan, market adviser, Koyambedu wholesale traders association.
The price of tomato is high, even when rates of other veggies are less. Reasoning it, a trader from the Koyambedu market, B. Rajagopalan, said, “The shelf life of tomatoes is very less, the reason why they can’t be stored. Moreover, there are no cold storage facilities in the market.”
At the local shops, the price of the arterial ingredient has gone through the roof, with a kilo costing around Rs 100. While prices of onion and potato remain stable, other veggies including mutter, beans, carrot, beetroot and green chillies have decreased.
