VIJAYAWADA: Households in Andhra Pradesh continue to wait eagerly for the price of tomatoes, a staple commodity in Indian kitchens, to cool down as the price of one kg of tomatoes stood at more than Rs 140 in several parts of the State.
At one point, the cost of one kg of tomatoes even shot up to a record Rs 200 per kg, burning a hole in the pockets of middle-class families. The price of the commodity surged to Rs 80 per kg in the last week of June from Rs 10-Rs 30 per kg, owing to extreme heat, inadequate production and unseasonal rainfall.
Serpentine queues outside Rythu Bazaars have become a common sight as tomatoes are being sold for a subsidised price of Rs 50 per kg. Customers remarked that every year in one season or another they are forced to stand in queues either for onions or tomatoes.
As an alternative, people have now started to purchase tomatoes in lesser quantities or replaced it with tamarind. The trend has resulted in tamarind sales seeing a rise of 20 per cent, while sales of tomatoes dwindling by 50 per cent, vendors in Kurnool observed.
Retailers are also feeling the pinch as families who used to purchase 3-4 kilos per week have scaled it down to 500 grams to 1 kg per week.
Ramanadham, an employee at a private firm in Tirupati, expressed, “The unwanted hike in tomato price is breaking the common man’s back. Earlier, my family of three used to consume around 3 kg of tomatoes in a week when they were sold at around Rs 10-Rs 30 per kg. However, now the price of tomatoes has been hovering at Rs 150 per kg for the past 20 days. As a result, we are switching to vegetables that are not as expensive.”
Raghuram, a tomato dealer in Guntur, explained that the sale of tomatoes has dropped to 50 kgs from 100 kgs per day due to the skyrocketing prices.
“People are barely buying tomatoes. The situation is so bad that some customers have now started to purchase 100-250 grams as they cannot afford it,” he lamented.
N Subramanyam, a resident of Sambamurthy Nagar in Kakinada, said, “My family has stopped using tomatoes ever since the prices shot up to record levels.”
In Visakhapatnam, nearly 5,000 people converged at Kancharapalem Rythu Bazaar as authorities sold tomatoes at a subsidised price after a 10-day hiatus.
Rajeswari, a homemaker, said, “I did replace tomatoes with tamarind for some time, but the juicy vegetable adds a flavour in curries that the alternative options cannot.”
She added she had to wait in a queue for more than an hour to buy one kg of tomatoes. “I am forced to spend at least Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 extra due to the sudden rise in the prices of tomatoes,” S Laxmi from Vizianagaram rued.
(With inputs from Tirupati/Kurnool/Kadapa/Guntur/Kakinada/Visakhpatnam)