Price crash: Farmers dump tomatoes on the roadside

With the steady decline in price of tomatoes, hundreds of farmers are facing a huge loss in the taluk.

The crash in prices of the red fruit, especially during the Hindu month of Shravana when they expect good prices, has shocked them. Small farmers, unable to bear the transportation cost, have dumped their produce by the roadside.

With the price of onions skyrocketing, followed by other vegetables, the crash in tomato prices was unexpected, opined a tomato grower.

Tomatoes that were sold at Rs 25 to Rs 30 per kg during the corresponding period last year, are now being sold at just Rs 2 to 3 at Arsikere market. Moreover, with more stocks arriving at the market, farmers dump unsold tomatoes at the ‘Santhe Maidana’, leaving it for cattle. They fear that the prices will further crash to Re 1 per kg if the situation continues. But, there seems to be a ray of hope as festivals are round the corner.

Taluk Raitha Sangha President Melanahalli Nagaraju said the farmers had grown tomatoes drawing water from pump sets and by borrowing money from private moneylenders.

With the prices nosediving, they are left dejected. He sought support price for tomatoes and also a cold storage facility at the local APMC to store the produce during crisis.