Due to increased production and reduced demand, Chhattisgarh tomato growers are having a hard time. Currently, there is a surplus of the vegetable in many markets. And as much as the surplus production of the red fruit is making consumers happy, it is no good news for the tomato farmers of Chhattisgarh.
A farmer from Bemetara, who produces more than 500-600 kg of tomatoes every day, said: "This season is proving to be very difficult for us as the surplus production and the reduced demand are leading to huge losses. If I exclude the labour and transportation costs, I'm not able to recover my cost of production. I am selling a kg of tomatoes at a meagre price of 50 paise to Rs 1 to vendors."
"For common people in the market, tomatoes are being sold at Rs 10 for 2 kg and at some places, even three kilograms of the vegetable is being sold for the same price. Farmers are worried sick due to the fall in the prices of tomatoes. I am making a loss of Rs 2.5/kg. I request the state government to take some steps to pull us out of financial straits," said one farmer from Bilaspur.
Source: indiatoday.in