CHITTOOR: Even as over 10 days have passed since the prices of tomatoes began to shoot up, there appears to be no sign of relief for the common man. The cost of one kg of tomatoes surged to Rs 144 per kg in the Madnapalle market, the largest in Asia, due to sluggish arrivals on Wednesday.
This is the highest price recorded in the Madnapalle tomato market this year. With the wholesale price increasing, the retail price of tomatoes, which was around Rs 100 to Rs 120 per kg, is expected to rise to Rs 150 per kg.
Madanapalle market received 580 MT of arrivals on Wednesday against an average of 700-1,200 MT received for the past few days. The price of tomatoes in Sadum, Punganur, Venkatagiri Kota, Punganur and Palamaneru markets of Chittoor district was also similar.
According to traders and officials, the supply of tomatoes to the market is usually five to seven times more than what it received on Wednesday.“The price for first-grade variety of tomatoes was recorded at Rs 1,440 per 10 kg, while it stood at Rs 1,280 per 10 kg for the second-grade variety,” officials explained.
“The high price of tomatoes is likely to continue till the end of July. It will drop only after markets in Anantapur start getting produce from local markets,” Madanapalle Market Committee secretary Abhilash. The demand for tomatoes from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka has increased for the past few days as traders from these States are directly visiting markets in the Chittoor district to procure the produce. Usually, farmers from Chittoor export the produce to markets in the two States.