At Rs 90 a kg, tomato costlier than petrol in Bengaluru

Tomato prices touched an all-time high of Rs 90 per kg in Bengaluru on Wednesday on account of poor rainfall in the major tomato-growing districts of southern Karnataka.

Outlets of Horticultural Producers Co-operative Marketing and Processing Society Limited (Hopcoms) sold tomatoes at Rs 90 a kg, about the same price quoted by vendors in retail markets across the city.

“On July 12, a kilogram of tomato was priced at Rs 88. The price was the same till Tuesday but shot up suddenly on Wednesday,” a Hopcoms official said. A kilogram of tomatoes costs Rs 65 in the wholesale market. A kilogram of fig retails at almost the same as tomatoes at Rs 92, which is a rare phenomenon, he added.

“Ironically, fuel is cheaper than tomatoes. Since tomatoes are used in almost every dish, the price rise will hit people hard,” he said. On Wednesday, petrol cost Rs 65.38 a litre and diesel Rs 55.19 a litre.

R V Gopi, the president of Vegetable and Fruit Wholesale Merchants’ Association, said a kilogram of tomatoes cost just Rs 15 until a fortnight ago. He attributed the sudden rise in price to shortage of supply in the market.

“There is hardly any supply to the city because of lower yield in Bengaluru Rural, Mandya, Chikkaballapur and Kolar districts where tomatoes are grown on a large scale. From around 100 tonnes a day earlier, the supply has now dropped to between 10 and 15 tonnes. This is because of poor rainfall in these districts where tomato seeds have been sown. The rainfall has been low ever since the monsoon began. Similar is the case with peas which now cost Rs 150 per kg,” Gopi said. The demand from exporters, other states and juice factories also pushed tomato prices to the north, he added.

The prices of other essential vegetables have, however, remained unchanged. Potato costs between Rs 12 and Rs 15 per kg, the same as in the past 10 days. Onion has been retailing at Rs 10-12 a kg for about three months now, Gopi said.