Kitchen budget on fire as tomato hits century in Andhra Pradesh

TIRUPATI: Tomatoes have crossed 100 a kilogram in Chittoor district.


While the price of

tomato

in the Madanapalle region rose to 70-80 a kilogram in the wholesale market, the vegetable is being sold at 100 and over at vegetable markets and retail stores in Chittoor, Tirupati and Annamayya districts.

"A crate (30 kilos) of first quality tomatoes costs anywhere between 2,100-2,370 today. So, we sold it for 69-88 a kilo, depending upon grade and quality. Damage to the crop due to rains for the past week resulted in decrease of yield this time. Lack of supply has also to a spike in price," said a wholesale trader.

Traders also predict that prices are likely to remain on the higher side till the end of May or until fresh stocks arrive. They expect the price per kilo to go up by another 15-20 and even cross 125 in the retail market by the end of the month, as arrivals at wholesale mandis already show signs of plummeting. According to information, the tomato market in Madanapalle town, the largest wholesaler for this produce in Asia, received nearly 155 tonnes of tomato on Friday and average arrivals per day did not cross 200 tonnes in the past fortnight. In general, the supply of tomato to this market is five to seven times higher than current arrivals.

"In the wholesale market, the first grade tomato was sold at 88 a kilo on Friday, while the second variety was priced at 43-69 a kg. On an average more than 700 tonnes are expected to arrive at the Madanapalle market daily in the current season. However, farmers are bringing in low stocks to the market this season as yields have declined in many regions," a marketing department official said.

The Madanapalle wholesale market receives the vegetable from Madanapalle, Thamballapalle and Punganur constituencies and some parts of Karnataka.