CHITTOOR: In a respite for consumers, the wholesale prices of tomatoes dropped to Rs 38 per kilo from the exorbitant Rs 200 per kilo after a gap of over a month at Madanapalle market on Tuesday.
The arrival of tomato stocks to the market yards in the Chittoor and Annamayya districts had plummeted to below 100 tonnes a day in July. However, a gradual increase in the stocks was seen from the first week of this month. On Tuesday, the Madanapalle market received 293 metric tonnes of tomatoes.
According to the marketing officials, the reason behind the drop in prices of tomato is due to an increase in arrivals from the Anantapur district. The prices had jumped from Rs 60 to a whopping Rs 200 per kilo in the wholesale markets within 20-25 days in July due to high temperatures and continuous rainfall. Tomatoes had become scarcer in local markets. Huge demand and poor supply had led to massive jump in the prices.
The market received fresh arrival of 321 metric tonnes on July 31 and the prices of the kitchen staple tumbled to Rs 184 per kilo. Likewise, 368 metric tonnes of tomatoes arrived in the market, which resulted in a further drop in the prices to Rs 168 per kilo. An increase in the arrival of tomatoes has led to a gradual decrease in wholesale prices in the past few days.
Increase in exports
On an average, the price of a 25-kilo box of tomato traded at Rs 2,000-Rs 2,500 two weeks ago. However, the prices have plummeted to Rs 750-Rs 1,000 in the past two days. It is learnt that markets across the undivided Anantapur district have been receiving nearly 2.5 lakh crates of tomatoes on a daily basis. Madanapalle, Gurramkonda, Angallu, and Mulakalacheruvu markets have also been receiving huge stocks of tomatoes from the Anantapur district. Moreover, farmers are exporting the stocks to neighbouring Karnataka and also to markets in the undivided Chittoor district.
In fact, traders from Karnataka have been procuring stocks only from Anantapur district, which has resulted in a decrease in the demand for vegetables in Chittoor district. “Traders from Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu have not been visiting the markets as they have surplus production in those areas. The stocks from markets across both the districts are being exported to northern states,” said K Srinivasa, a trader from Gurramkonda.