Tomato prices fall rock bottom, sale at Rs.2 per kilo

Kurnool: The price of tomato has fallen to a deep low of '2 at the local markets, pushing the farmers to the brink of despair in the Peapully area of Nandyal. A few weeks ago, tomato prices were up at '150-'200, but the arrival of fresh crops in the main markets brought the prices down.

With prices falling to rock bottom, some farmers have dumped their produce outside the market and some others on the national highways, as had been the case in the past too. The unstable market conditions are too much for them to bear with.

Now, after meeting the transportation cost, they hardly get any profit. This could lead to a situation of farmers leaving the crop to perish in the farms themselves, analysts said.

Farmers lament that the price for their produce barely covers the cost of transportation. Tomatoes were dumped by distressed farmers on the National Highway at Dhone, where cattle have started feasting on these.

In the Pathikonda wholesale market in Kurnool, a steep decline in tomato prices was evident on Thursday. Around 300 quintals of tomatoes reached the wholesale market, and the average price was '6 per kilo. However, high-quality tomatoes fetched a better rate of '1,200 per quintal, against the '2,000-'2,500 per quintal a week ago.

The Pathikonda Wholesale Market Yard secretary Srinivasulu said the tomato market, once a good source of revenue to the farmers, is unpredictable now. “Some farmers are reluctant to bring the produce to the market, to avoid meeting the transportation costs,” he said.