After touching a high of ₹200 per kg price in the retail market, tomato prices have crashed both in the wholesale and retail markets. The wholesale price of the kitchen staple at the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) Vashi has come down to ₹7-11 per kg from ₹70-90 per kg nearly a month ago. In one month, the price has come down around 90% in the wholesale market.
Traders said the market received around 1,800 quintals of tomatoes on average last week, resulting in prices falling to single digit in wholesale.
Unprecedented crash
Between July and August, the price touched an unprecedented high in retail, with consumers resorting to alternatives like tamarind. However, within a month, the retail price has fallen to Rs20-30 per kg. “Such a crash is unprecedented, too,” said a trader from APMC Vashi.
As per the administrative department of APMC, four trucks and 43 tempos laden with tomatoes arrived on Monday. In July and August, the number of vehicles arriving was barely nine to 10.
Farmers junked their crops
Owing to perennially high demand, farmers sowed more than normal, ultimately being saddled with a bumper crop. In some parts of Maharashtra, farmers junked their crops as wholesale price crashed to Rs2 per kg. “The situation is almost similar to the one seen in March-April, when the price crashed after a bumper crop,” said another trader, adding that price volatility this time was completely unexpected.
Suhani S, a resident of Ulwe, said that she is happy that prices are now within the household budget. “I did not buy tomatoes for almost a month. I managed with puree instead,” she said.
