TIRUCHY: A spurt in arrival of tomatoes over the past few days, attributed in turn to increased production, has led the price of the fruit to crash to Rs 10/kg in Tiruchy’s wholesale market on Wednesday.
Until last week, the price stood at Rs 45/kg. Concerned over losses were the trend to remain for long, farmers seek price stabilisation measures by the government.
A Jaisankar, a wholesale vegetable trader in the city’s Gandhi Market, said the tomato supply to Tiruchy is from neighbouring states like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh as well as places in Tamil Nadu like Pollachi and Udumalaipettai, and Manapparai and Vaiyampatti closer home.
Mentioning Gandhi Market receiving about five truckloads of tomatoes daily, Jaisankar said, “In the last two days, the arrival, however, nearly doubled, forcing traders to sell it at a low price. Ten days ago, a kilogram of tomatoes was sold at Rs 60 in the retail market.
As the arrival went up, the price of tomatoes began to come down.” M Abdullah, president of the integrated Manapparai Taluk Farmers' Association, said that farmers in Manapparai alone cultivate tomato on around 800 acres.
Despite high yield this time, farmers are unable to earn a profit owing to the drastic fall in price of the produce, he added. Going on to say that farmers spend around Rs 50,000 per acre to raise tomatoes in Manapparai, Abdullah added,
“Though traders sell it at `10/kg, we get only `5/kg. The price will no way be commensurate with the production cost. The agriculture department should come forward to help small farmers.”
When enquired, a senior official in the agricultural marketing and agri business department pointed out that there are two government cold storage facilities and five such private ones in Tiruchy. Farmers should utilise the facility for at least a week before they can sell their tomatoes at a fairly reasonable price, the official said.