Rains cause havoc to tomato production, rate spikes threefold to Rs 60 in Chennai

CHENNAI: The price of one kilogram of tomato in the Koyambedu wholesale market on Sunday hit Rs 60, a hike of Rs 40 from its rate of Rs 20 from just the previous week. Sellers blamed it on the damage caused to the fruits due to the rains.

Further, Bangalore tomatoes or hybrid tomatoes cost Rs 70 today. It was sold at Rs 30 last week, said S S Muthukumar, President of Koyambedu Semi Wholesalers Vegetable Association. These rates are likely to remain unchanged or another month, he added.

On online platforms like Swiggy Instamart and Zepto, the rates were as follows: Rs 90 for Indian tomato, Rs 108 for Hybrid tomato, around Rs 190 for organic certified tomato, and around Rs 200 for Cherry tomato.

"The rains have affected tomato cultivation, thereby causing a price hike. Tomatoes were also damaged in many places. 75 percent of the supply comes from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka where there was an early onset of the monsoon season," said A Selva Kumar, a vegetable seller in Nungambakkam.

The customers too lamented about the increase, especially those from low-income groups. "Tamil Nadu is a state where people use tomatoes on a daily basis for most of the curry items. The increase in rates would affect the middle class and lower middle class the most as their daily budget would be affected, forcing them to remove or reduce the quantity of the item," said Syed Shamsudeen, a resident of Pallavaram. He urged the government to revive sale of tomatoes through ration shops.