VIJAYAWADA: Agriculture Minister Kinjarapu Atchannaidu has assured tomato farmers of the State government’s unwavering support to protect them from financial losses due to market challenges.
Addressing concerns over recent price volatility, he promised to take measures to ensure fair price to ryots.
On Sunday, tomato prices at the Raptadu market yard recorded a maximum of Rs 18 per kg, a minimum of Rs 9, and a modal price of Rs 12. The Patthikonda market receives 30–40 metric tonnes of tomatoes daily, with an additional 10 metric tonnes arriving due to Dasara holidays, which led to price slump, he said.
However, the dumping of second-grade tomatoes on roads by farmers caused market disruptions. To stabilise supply, the government has redirected 10 metric tonnes of tomatoes to Rythu Bazaars, he added.
On Monday, an additional 10 metric tonnes of tomatoes were sent to a processing unit in Chittoor, and 15 metric tonnes were supplied to Rythu Bazaars. Atchannaidu attributed the slowdown in tomato sales to continuous rainfall, which also reduced supplies from Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra. He reaffirmed the NDA government’s commitment to provide robust support to safeguard farmers’ livelihoods.