YSR Kadapa: Tomato, Sweet Lime Prices Crash
More than 100 tonnes of tomatoes arrived at the Yemmiganur market on Wednesday. Trader P. Ramesh said the produce was of good size and colour, but farmers were getting only around Rs 10 a kg. The same produce was being sold for Rs 15 to Rs 20 a kg in retail markets, he said
KADAPA: Tomato and sweet lime (Cheeni) prices have crashed in Rayalaseema, leaving farmers struggling to recover cultivation costs. While tomatoes are fetching less than Rs 10 a kg in several wholesale markets, A-grade sweet lime (Cheeni) is fetching around Rs 18,000 a tonne, against Rs 70,000 in June last year.
More than 100 tonnes of tomatoes arrived at the Yemmiganur market on Wednesday. Trader P. Ramesh said the produce was of good size and colour, but farmers were getting only around Rs 10 a kg. The same produce was being sold for Rs 15 to Rs 20 a kg in retail markets, he said.
R. Krishnappa, a farmer from Gadivemula in Nandyal district, said he cultivated tomatoes on four acres and secured a good yield. He said he had expected better prices as tomato cultivation had declined in several areas this year, but the returns were too low to recover his investment.
“Though the yield from my four acres was good, the price is not remunerative. It is becoming difficult to recover even the cultivation costs,” he said.
Kavuluru Sunil Reddy, a farmer from Edigapalle village in Kamalapuram mandal of YSR Kadapa district, said he cultivated sweet lime (Cheeni) on three acres but was getting only around Rs 15,000 a tonne.
“The present price is not enough to recover our investment. We spent heavily on fertilisers and pesticides. Unless the price reaches at least Rs 30,000 a tonne, there is hardly any scope for profit,” he said.
Horticulture officials said tomato cultivation this year was considerably lower than the normal area, mainly due to the El Nino impact and poor availability of irrigation water. Farmers are largely dependent on borewells for tomato cultivation.
