MADURAI/DHARMAPURI: Persistent rainfall and high humidity have simultaneously hit vegetable and flower belts in Madurai and Dharmapuri, affecting production and driving up prices of both tomatoes and jasmine over the past two weeks.
Price of tomato, one of the worst-hit crops this monsoon, has nearly doubled from Rs 20–Rs 25 per kg to Rs 55–Rs 60 in retail markets across the state after rainfall cut production and arrival from other states too dropped by nearly half. Jasmine price has surged to Rs 2,000–Rs 2,500 per kg as daily arrivals in Madurai reduced from 10 tonnes to less than a tonne.
Dharmapuri district, which is one of the main tomato growing regions of the state and where the crop is cultivated in roughly 12,000 hectares annually, sees large production during the October–November planting cycle. Farmers normally harvest 15 tonnes–20 tonnes per acre, but this season, persistent northeast monsoon, cloud cover, and moisture stress have sharply reduced flowering.
“We usually receive 14 tonnes–15 tonnes a day, but this week it has dropped to 7–8 tonnes,” said P Ganeshan, a trader at the Palacode market, where a 25 kg box of tomato sold for Rs 1,500–Rs 1,600 on Saturday due to short supply.
Farmers said yields have plummeted. “An acre can give 20 tonnes of tomato, but I barely got four tonnes this time,” said S Muniappan of Palacode. “The rains have damaged the flowers. We spend over Rs 50,000 per acre every month on pesticides and fertilisers, but still can’t make a profit.”
K Kalimuthu, a traditional tomato farmer from Paraivalasai village in Dindigul, said, “While rain took a major toll on cultivation, diseases, too, have affected the harvest. Out of the usual 50 crates we get per acre, we are presently getting just five crates.”
Horticulture officials noted that such drops are typical during the monsoon, though excessive pesticide use is compounding the damage. Agriculture marketing officials said tomato arrivals have fallen to eight–nine tonnes from the usual 12–14. Though the supply remains adequate for local demand, the trend may continue until early January.
In Madurai, too, the continuous wet spell has choked market arrivals, driving prices of vegetables and flowers to unprecedented levels. Jasmine, one of the most sought-after flowers, now sells at Rs 2,000–Rs 2,500 per kg — up from Rs 1,200 just days ago — as daily arrivals at the Mattuthavani and Usilampatti markets crashed from 10 tonnes to less than a tonne. Farmers say output has plunged from 10 kg per acre to only a few kilograms, with the crop suffering both from humidity and poor sunlight.
Vegetables have fared no better. Drumstick prices have tripled, soaring from Rs 80–Rs 100 per kg last week to Rs 300–Rs 350 per kg at the Mattuthavani Central Market. Tomato crates that sold for Rs 200 10 days ago, now fetch Rs 600–Rs 800, pushing retail rates to Rs 40–Rs 65 per kg. Farmers report drumstick yield dropping from 150 kg per acre to barely 50, while tomato growers in Madurai say harvest has fallen from 50 crates per acre per day to just five due to widespread disease following the rain. Traders across both districts warn that unless the weather stabilises, prices are likely to remain high for at least the next couple of weeks.
Trend may continue till early January
Officials said tomato arrivals have fallen to eight–nine tonnes from the usual 12–14. Though, the supply remains adequate for local demand at Palacode market in Dharmapuri, the price trend may continue until early January