Tomato prices bring respite to consumers

Madanapalle(Annamayya district): Giving a respite to the consumers, the prices of tomatoes in Madanapalle market witnessed a steep fall on Thursday. The prices tomato which skyrocketed and touched Rs 196 per kilo at one stage, have been receding gradually in the recent days but hovered around Rs 100 till Wednesday. But on Thursday, the prices came down to Rs 50 to 64 with average price at Rs 60. The same quality tomatoes were sold at Rs 102 just a day before.

According to Madanapalle market sources, the market yard received 351 metric tonnes of tomatoes on Wednesday while on Thursday, it got 392 metric tonnes. With this, the second quality of tomatoes were sold at an average price of Rs.44. While the consumers have felt some relief with the downward trend of the prices, the tomato farmers who were on cloud 9 in the past few days with the abnormal hike in prices have been feeling the pinch now.

According to market sources, the prices may further go down in the next few days with a little ups and downs in between. In the Tirupati retail market, the prices were around Rs 70 a kilo whereas the price was fixed at Rs 55 in Rythu Bazaar. But, consumers are feeling dissatisfied with the poor quality of tomatoes at the Rythu Bazaar.

Normally, Madanapalle tomatoes will have more shelf life than those from other areas and its price will also be higher due to this reason. The traders from other states also prefer Madanapalle tomato as its quality is superior and will not spoil even during the export period.