Curated By: Business Desk
Last Updated: August 08, 2023, 10:51 IST
Tomato prices may touch Rs 300 per kg soon.
The price of tomato rose to Rs 110 per kg in July from Rs 33 per kg in June, CRISIL noted.
Consumers are unlikely to get any relief from the soaring prices of vegetables, especially tomatoes, even in August. According to wholesale traders, tomato prices are likely to touch ₹300 per kilogram in the coming days. Due to these rising prices, the average cost of preparing vegetarian thali at stalls or food joints in India surged by 34 per cent in July. Data compiled by the rating agency Crisil Market Intelligence and Analytics has informed about this aspect. The price of tomato rose to Rs 110 per kg in July from Rs 33 per kg in June, CRISIL noted. According to the agency data, the price of tomatoes has witnessed a 233 per cent jump when compared with the previous month. According to Crisil Market Intelligence and Analytics, the prices of onions will also escalate in September by 16 per cent. The report also mentioned the increase in the prices of chilli, which became costlier by 69% and cumin, which surged by 16%.
Tomato prices have seen a rise for a long time. Now, rains have further worsened the supply that caused further price increases. Azadpur Mandi wholesaler Sanjai Bhagat discussed with PTI the problems of transporting tomatoes. Sanjai said, “There is a lot of difficulty in the transportation of vegetables due to landslides and heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh. It takes 6 to 8 hours more than usual in the exportation of vegetables from the producers due to which the price of tomato might reach nearly ₹300 per kilogram.”
According to a Times of India report, consumers are unlikely to get any respite from the soaring tomato prices, till the first week of September. As of now, the Central Government has subsidised tomatoes to lessen the burden on customers. The government has initiated sales at nearly 500 centres for Rs 90 per kilo. This was later reduced to Rs 80. Currently, many fast-food chains have removed tomatoes from their products. Restaurants have also temporarily excluded meals like tomato soup from their menus.
