Tomato prices plummet in Hyderabad, bring relief to shoppers

HYDERABAD: The prices of tomatoes are gradually dipping in the city, with the nine Rythu Bazaar selling them at Rs 63 a kg for the second day. The news has brought relief to many, with prices coming down after more than 45. The price of a kg of tomatoes had zoomed after being sold at Rs 20 a kg on June 24 and Rs 40 a kg on June 25.

Upon learning the news of the fall in prices, many rushed to the market to buy something that they had denied themselves. Prithviraj Yakuru, a lecturer, said he wrapped up work sooner than normal to reach the market on time before the best tomatoes were gone. "I usually buy 750gm of tomatoes for a week, but today, I'm taking 2.5kg. I can't tell if it'll go up again," he said, adding that in the past month, he had to bring it down to 500gm.

Mallepu Ravi, a vendor at a local weekly market, said that despite his produce not being of the best quality, he hoped to be able to sell most of it by the end of the day. "From having almost nobody frequent my cart to numerous of them today, it's such a relief," he told Deccan Chronicle. He and two others at the market who have had a rough time in the past month wore a smile after a long time at the start of the week.

However, local mandis and markets were selling tomatoes at Rs 75 to Rs 90 a kg. "This is still a lot less in comparison to what we have been selling it for, until the weekend. At that time it was Rs120 to Rs130 a kg. Before that, for almost three weeks, prices remained at around Rs200," said Lachi, another vegetable vendor.

The prices are still high at retail chains, ranging from Rs120 to Rs150 a kg. The prices on e-commerce stores varied from Rs130 a kg to Rs180.

Once news about the steep fall in tomato prices began to spread, many consumers, who would otherwise visit their local supermarket, rushed to their weekly sabzi mandi to buy tomatoes. "The price difference between the local market and the supermarkets is huge. We could do well with these for a week," said Mira Basumatary P., an IT professional.

At the Rythu Bazaar, an official said the prices had begun to fall five days ago. “The prices have stood between Rs75 and Rs80 for the last five days. Before that, the highest was Rs100, which was Rs0 days ago," said K.R. Vijay Kumar, estate officer, at Mehdipatnam Rythu Bazaar.