Wholesale traders at Koyambedu say the prices of tomatoes fell to ₹10 to ₹13 a kg because of bumper harvests in Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh. They seem to be forced to dump the previous day’s unsold stock of tomatoes as prices crashed. The Koyambedu market received about 70 loads of tomato on Thursday, compared to about 50 loads on average last month. Of the total arrivals of about 700 tons, traders had no choice but to send 3 to 4 tons of the previous day’s tomato stocks to the dump. According to thehindu.com, farmers in various parts of the State said they would be forced to leave the crop unharvested if the prices did not improve.
Farmers worried about crash in tomato prices
Himachal Pradesh growers are anxious as the prices have crashed, and there is no surety that the returns will pick up soon. While a local cash crop like tomato may not be large scale, in comparison to the other crops across India, it is reflective of the deepening agricultural crisis in the country.
Some say government intervention is needed to save the growers. This again brings into focus the demand for a minimum support price (MSP) for agricultural produce.
[ ₹100 = €1.20 ]
Source: thecitizen.in