Consumer budget upset as tomato sold at 120 - 140 a kg

Bengaluru: Due to the unprecedented rains in the State, the vegetable crops have been severely damaged and the demand for tomato supply has increased in the market. Retail prices of tomato have skyrocketed to as high as Rs 120 per kg in some parts of Karnataka as supplies have been hit due to heavy rains, according to the government data.

Tomato is being imported from Nashik in Maharashtra to augment supplies from Mandya, Ramanagaram and Bengaluru suburbs to K R Market, Kalasipalya, Malleshwaram and other major markets in the State capital to meet the demand from hotels and households. About five to six truckloads of tomato are being imported from Nashik to Bengaluru every day and about 70-80 tempos from other parts of the State. But wholesale merchants say it's being sold out in no time.A 14-kg tomato box costs anywhere between Rs 1,400 and Rs 1,600 in the Kalasipalya Wholesale Market.

The best quality tomato is selling anywhere betweenRs 1,800 and Rs 2,000, says Srikanth, a wholesaler at theKalasipalya market. In the retail market, one kg tomato is selling at Rs 100 to Rs 120 forcing consumers to cut down on spending on this indispensable vegetable. Most of the people are buying in as small a quantity 250 grams. The premature rainfall has also adversely affected the supplies of other vegetables, upsetting the household budget of most people in the State.

According to experts, the same situation may last for another month. This has come as bad news for the push-cart vendors as well,forcing them to drop its sale until the price drops. Since it's perishable, push-cart vendors find it a risky proposition to sell tomato at Rs 120 -Rs 140 a kg."I will stay away from selling tomatoes until the price comes down," said Jagdish, a push-cart vendor. Supplies from Kolar and Chikkaballapur have been badly affected due to the recent rains. Notwithstanding a steady supply from different areas and Nashik to Bengaluru, there is still acute shortage in Bengaluru."There is not enough supply as per the demand," said RV Gopi, President of Kalasipalya Vegetable Fruit Wholesalers Association.