Tomatoes sold for record Rs 168 per kg in Andhra Pradesh

CHITTOOR: Owing to sluggish arrivals, the wholesale price of tomatoes were being sold at record high prices of Rs 168 per kg in Madanapalle, Asia’s largest tomato market, on Wednesday. Because of this, traders believe that the retail price of tomatoes, which was around Rs 120-Rs 150 per kg based on the variety in various parts of the State, is now expected to increase further with increasing wholesale prices.

As of Wednesday, the tomatoes were sold at Rs 168 per kg in Madanapalle, Rs 28 higher than what they were sold a day before. On Wednesday, the Madanapalle market received around a meager 361 Metric Tonnes (MT) of produce against the actual arrival of 800 MT-900 MT per day. The price was recorded between Rs 1,400 and Rs 1,680 per box (10 kg) for the first-grade variety of tomatoes, while the second-grade was between Rs 1,180 and Rs 1,380 per box. In fact, it is the highest price ever recorded this year in the Madanapalle tomato market.

Speaking to NewsTAP, Madanapalle Tomato Market Yard Secretary T Abilash said that on average, the Madanapalle tomato market receives around 800 MT-900 MT per day. During the peak season, the arrival of tomatoes may range between 1,000MT-1,500MT per day. However, for the last few days, the market has been receiving below 500MT due to poor arrivals of tomatoes from local farmers who attribute heavy rains as the reason for the low yield of the much-sought-after vegetable, he said.

Asked whether the prices of tomatoes would stabilise soon, Abilash said that several local farmers in and around Madanapalle region have started migrating to Anantapur to purchase the tomatoes cultivated by the farmers. Usually, tomatoes from Anantapur were exported to West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana. They were also sent to Madanapalle, Kollar, Vaddepalli, Vizianagaram, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Bellary markets. “Prices of tomatoes could stabilise and consumers could feel a sigh of relief once the produce from Anantapur becomes available in the market within a week,” Abilash said.