CHENNAI: The retail price of tomatoes breached the three-digit mark — Rs 100 per kg — on Sunday, even as the wholesale price was cheaper by Rs 10 per kg in the Koyambedu market. In Coimbatore, this is the second time the price of the vegetable has increased in the last month.
After the incessant rains during early November, the price shot to Rs 100. It reduced to Rs 40 only after the influx of a consignment from north India, according to sellers in the Koyambedu market. The retail prices of other vegetables such as brinjal and ladies finger have also breached Rs 100, according to sources.
Koyambedu Vegetable Fruit and Flower Sellers’ Welfare Association President M Thiagarajan said the price is most likely to remain high for at least 15 to 20 days. Explaining the situation, he said heavy rains destroyed crops in the neighbouring states, resulting in reduced supplies. “The selling price of tomatoes in the neighbouring states are higher than in Chennai,” he said.
Potato Merchants Association President Soundararajan blamed the price rise on the change in rainfall pattern during the ongoing Northeast Monsoon. “Usually, the monsoon does not bring much rain to Karnataka and the central districts of Tamil Nadu. But this time, the case is completely different,” he said, suggesting consumers use tamarind and lemon as an alternative.
A resident of Velachery, V Gouri, lamented about spending nearly Rs 1,000 on vegetables that too only for a week. “We are forced to think twice to spend on anything else. Prices in the neighbourhood markets are exorbitant,” she said.