Only a few months ago, growers were throwing tomatoes on streets as there was no market for the tomatoes. The prices had dropped below Re one per kg. Now, the scene has changed now and the price is over Rs 25 per kg.   

The spurt in prices is mainly due to heavy rains in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Also, not many farmers had gone in for tomatoes cultivation due to earlier crash in prices .

On Wednesday, a15-kg box of tomato was being sold for a whopping Rs 330 at the local APMC Market. A couple of weeks ago, the box was being sold for just Rs 100.

Tomato cultivated in the district is now being transported and sold in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and in far off Mumbai, Rajasthan and Delhi.

Many a time, the farmers could not get back investments made on cultivation. Every year, the price of tomato fluctuates depending on the demand and supply. This time, the demand is more and the yield is less. Hence, the price is shooting up.

Besides, May, June and July months are the peak season for the sale of tomato at local markets. Besides this, the low yield in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu is being cited as one of the reasons for the steep hike in prices.

However, due to lack of rain tomato was not cultivated on a large scale in the district. Hence, the stock has been limited to only 8-10 tonnes. Last year 20 tonnes of tomato were stocked at the local APMC yard.

Only the rich and the farmers who sank borewells and cultivated this crop are reaping the profits. Local varieties such as 618 and the hybrid varieties like M-2 and Abhinav are in demand. At a local market, one kg of tomato is being sold for Rs 25.