CHENNAI: Tomato prices dipped by Rs 30 per kg in the Koyambedu Wholesale Vegetable Market on Thursday with the arrival of stock from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and three large trucks from Maharashtra. The prices of other vegetables, such as ladies finger and carrot, have also declined.
“On Wednesday, only 30 tomato-laden trucks arrived at the Koyambedu Wholesale Market, and the price was about Rs 110. On Thursday, 45 trucks arrived, and rate was Rs 80 per kg,” said Koyambedu Vegetable, Fruit and Flower Sellers’ Welfare Association president M Thiagarajan.
The decline in prices comes after the Tamil Nadu government decided to buy 15 metric tonnes (MT) of tomatoes from cooperatives and sell it to consumers for Rs 85-100. On Friday, tomatoes are expected to get cheaper by Rs 10, Thiagarajan said.
Tomatoes, which were selling at Rs 20 a kg a couple of months ago, breached the Rs 120 mark in the wholesale market on Tuesday, while the retail cost touched Rs 150. With the reduction in wholesale prices, the retail price is now about Rs 100 per kg.
Abdul Khader, secretary of the Koyambedu Vegetable Wholesale Merchants Association, said a cost of Rs 80 per kg can’t be considered a price dip. “Only when the price is Rs 30, can we say it has come down,” the trader asserted.
Interestingly, in many parts of Chennai, hawkers have stopped selling vegetables because customers are staying away due to the high prices.