Farmers leave tomatoes in the field as prices drop to Rs 2 per kilogram

Load archive photos of tomatoes onto vehicles at APMC market in Kolar.

Summer is when most fruits and vegetables become expensive. However, at the turning point of the incident, the price of tomatoes in the Koral district fell to Rs 5-per kg, which is the main vegetable growth zone in Karnataka. This has led many farmers to leave the wild tomatoes at the beginning of the summer.

Farmers say that at the Coral Agricultural Products Market Committee (APMC), a box of (15 kg) of tomatoes will be sold at between Rs 30 and 200 (2 to ₹13 per kg).

“To have the labor harvest the tomatoes and transport them, we have to recruit Rs 70 per box of cost. If we only have Rs 50 per box of Rs 30-50 in the market, we will lose Rs 20 per box. The harvest does not make sense. In Kolar and Chickballapur regions, the situation is similar.

Tomatoes have been sold at record highs over the past few years, and are currently at their lowest prices in a long time. So, what caused the price crash? Farmers say prices have fallen for nearly six months, and in the past two months, now the lowest prices in the past few days. Increased production, inflows in neighboring states, and reduced quality are also other reasons why prices are hit.

“The export has been almost stopped in recent days due to the shorter shelf life of our tomatoes. We have previously sent them to Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. It takes two to three days to send from Kolar to countries that are two to three days. However, tomatoes are busy during this period. The total yield is not high. Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Kolar District.

The Bangalore market is not affected

Although farmers struggle with the collapsed price, tomatoes are sold for around Rs 25-30 per kilogram in the Bangalore market. Traders say prices mismatched due to logistical charges they have to generate. “The shipping costs are now only the diesel price goes up. We have to pay by load and regardless of commodity price, we have to pay for these shipping costs. In addition, we have to maintain at least a small profit margin. Therefore, we sell for Rs 25 per kilogram.”