CHITTOOR: The prices of tomatoes in wholesale markets have come down with the increase in stock arrivals from the undivided Anantapur district to the markets of Chittoor. From the past three days, the arrivals have increased to 25 per cent when compared to the last week. Presently, the red vegetable is being sold at 90 to 100 rupees per kg in the wholesale market and at 100 rupees per kg in the retail market.
The price of one crate (25 kilo box) was recorded at Rs 2,500 on Sunday, while 15 days ago it was Rs 5,500. At Madanapalle, Asia’s largest tomato market, the staple vegetable recorded Rs 112 per kg on Monday and the wholesale market received around 299 metric tonnes. The market received 195 metric tonnes on August 5 and 404 metric tonnes on August 6.
As the markets have been receiving huge amounts of tomatoes from the Anantapur region, traders from various states, including Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, have been visiting the Chittoor district to procure tomatoes. Around 35 to 40 trucks of tomatoes have been exported on a daily basis from all markets of the district for the past one week.
Usually, after the arrival of tomatoes to local markets in Anantapur district, the demand in the wholesale markets in Chittoor district will witness a price drop. The traders from Karnataka will directly visit the vegetable mandis in Anantapur and procure the commodity, which also impacts the price in the markets.
“The price may drop to nearly Rs 50 within a short period as the arrivals to markets have been increasing in the undivided Chittoor district from Anantapur region. Farmers have started harvesting the crop and started selling the produce in nearby markets which has been reducing the demand for tomatoes in wholesale markets,” said K Sivaram, a trader from Gurramkonda.
On the other hand, consumers are expressing a sigh of relief as the price of tomatoes has dropped in retail markets in the State. On Monday, retail markets in Kakinada recorded Rs 60-Rs 70 per kg based on the variety. Meanwhile, the State government continued to supply tomatoes at Rs 50 per kg in Rythu Bazaars in Kakinada town. However, some of the traders have been creating artificial scarcity keeping in view of the demand.
