Tamil Nadu

With tomatoes selling at Re 1 per kg, Dharmapuri farmers dump produce

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DHARMAPURI: As tomato prices nosedived in Tamil Nadu’s markets, farmers in Dharmapuri dumped nearly one tonne of the kitchen essentials on the roadside near the Palacode tomato market on Sunday, alleging that they are getting only Re 1 per kg of their produce when the retail price stands at Rs 4 per kg.

The Palacode market is one of the key markets in the district where tomatoes are procured wholesale. On Sunday, the mood in the market was grim after a crate of tomatoes (25 kg) was sold for only Rs 25, at Re 1 per kg. Aggrieved, farmers dumped the tomatoes, stating that the price gave them no profits.

According to Kannan, a tomato cultivator in Panchapalli, last month (during Purattasi) the retail price of 1kg of tomato was between Rs 12 and Rs 16 while the wholesale price was between Rs 10 and Rs 12. 
"Now the prices have dipped to such an extent that farmers cannot afford to pay the transportation charges. Many are just feeding the tomatoes to their cattle while others just dumping them on the roadsides," he said.

Explaining that the farmers had to spend Rs 600 to 1000 on transporting the produce, Kannan asked how they could afford the charges if only Rs 25 is earned from selling 25 kg of tomatoes. "How can we employ labourers and pay for the transportation? Even if we sell a dozen crates, we will not make any profit."

Another farmer, K Govindhasamy said that most of the cultivators in the region are small scale farmers. Such prices would lead to a severe crisis as transportation alone costs a fortune, he said. In fact, some farmers have reportedly not even bothered to pluck the ripe tomatoes in the farms given the low prices.

According to data from the district’s Horticulture Department, Dharmapuri has a total of 4,886 acres of land under tomato cultivation. There are three refrigeration units set up in the district. One is in Palacode with a capacity of 50 tonnes, another in Harur with 25-tonne capacity and third in Pennagaram with a 25-tonne capacity. However, these refrigeration units were filled weeks ago, the data showed.

Officials at the markets said that the low prices were the result of seasonal fluctuations, and it was common for prices to drop when there is a glut in supply. This year, the rains from the southwest have greatly aided farmers with a successful harvest and this is also a reason for the prices to drop.

Officials said that at the Uzhavar Sandhai, prices were at Rs 4-Rs 5 per kg. However, they said there was little they could do to help farmers in negotiating with wholesale traders. "Here, buyers directly meet the traders and after bargaining, the final price is decided between the parties involved. It is sad to see farmers wasting their produce. We have urged them not to dump their produce," officials said.

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