MADURAI: The drop in supply of brinjal has resulted in the prices to soar above `80 in the wholesale market in Madurai on Monday. The availability of the vegetable has dropped by 75 % when compared to normal days. In contrast, a surge in the supply of tomatoes has pushed the price down from Rs 500 per 15 kg crate to Rs 400.
Sources said, prices have been constantly fluctuating over the erratic supply of vegetables. Reportedly, traders rely on not just local cultivators, but Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh markets to meet their needs. The price of brinjal has been over Rs 50 for the past couple of days constantly.
Notably, the tomato prices were above Rs 500 and even touched Rs 900 per 15 kg crate. With the increased supply in the market, the skyrocketing prices came down.
N Chinnamayan, president of the central market all traders federation, said, "In terms of brinjal, both local cultivators and other state markets play an equal role in catering for the needs of the Madurai market. Cultivation from Varusanadu, Usilampatti and other areas near Madurai are struggling with diseases, leaving traders to rely on the Andhra market. Normally, the market would receive an average of 15 to 20 tons of brinjal, the quantity has dropped to 5 tons now."
However, the arrival of tomatoes has increased in Madurai. On Monday, over 20 loads of tomatoes arrived from local cultivators as well as other states. Hence, the prices have come down to Rs 20 to Rs 40 per kg. Chinnamayan added that as the harvest from local cultivators continues to increase, the prices would go further down.
Tomato farmers argue that with the onset of the harvest season, the price of tomatoes has been plummeting, leaving farmers to face hardships. Fixing a minimum support price for tomatoes could protect them from loss, they added.
