Respite for common man as tomato prices fall in Telangana, AP

HYDERABAD: Giving some respite to the common man, the price of tomatoes which were sold at an all-time high of Rs 200 per kg in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh saw a decline with the arrivals of the new harvest of the staple vegetable from various tomato production areas in the country.

In Hyderabad, the tomatoes were sold at Rs 63 per kg in the Rythu Bazars across the city. While the price of tomatoes in retail markets stood between Rs 120 and Rs 140 per kg on Tuesday. The agriculture and marketing department officials said that tomatoes produced in Anantapur and Chittoor districts of Andhra Pradesh and from Karnataka had started arriving in Hyderabad in the last couple of days.

“We are expecting the price of the tomatoes will reach below Rs 50 per kg by the end of August, once the crop from the tomato production areas arrives in a full-fledged manner onto the market,” said an agriculture and marketing department official. Traders said that tomatoes from Ranga Reddy, Vikarabad, Chevella, Nawabpet and Medak districts had also arrived in Hyderabad, which was the major reason for the decline in the price of tomatoes.

In Andhra Pradesh, the price of tomatoes declined to Rs 65 per kg from Rs 100 per kg. With this, the farmers expressed their concern over the price drop of the staple vegetable which turned several of the farmers into billionaires for the last couple of months. Despite a price decline in the sale of tomatoes, there was a huge demand for the export of tomatoes to the neighboring States.

The wholesale price of tomatoes was at Rs 128 per kg in Madanapalle, Asia’s largest tomato market, on Tuesday. Speaking to NewsTAP, Madanapalle Tomato Market Yard Secretary T Abilash said that the Madanapalle market received around a meager 258 Metric Tonnes (MT) of produce on Tuesday. The first-grade variety of tomatoes were sold between Rs 110 and Rs 128 per kg while the second-grade variety was sold between Rs 94 and Rs 109 per kg in Madanapalle, he said.