11 July,2017 02:05 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Tomato rates have risen to Rs 100-110 per kg in areas such as Sion, Andheri and Ghatkopar. Tomatoes were usually sold at Rs 70-80 per kg in most parts of Mumbai, including Thane and Navi Mumbai
Tomato prices have increased to Rs 100-110 kg in some parts of Mumbai. Pic for representational purposes
Tomato rates have risen to Rs 100-110 per kg in areas such as Sion, Andheri and Ghatkopar. Tomatoes were usually sold at Rs 70-80 per kg in most parts of Mumbai, including Thane and Navi Mumbai.
According to The Times of India, traders attribute the shooting prices to unseasonal rainfall. Normally, prices of tomato firm up in the off-season of June-September every year. They expect this to be the case till August.
Vendors in Andheri market say due to excessive rain in some parts of Maharashtra, which led to crop failure, they are selling good quality tomatoes for Rs 100 since they purchased them for Rs 75 from the wholesale market.
Since the fasting season of Shravan begins on July 24 according to Maharashtrian and Gujarati calendars, consumption of tomato increases during this period as most families avoid non-vegetarian food.
An interesting thing to note here is that tomato prices crashed to Re 1 per kg a few weeks ago, when farmers across Maharashtra were striking and dumping produce on the streets.
Due to the sudden surge in tomato prices, consumers limited themselves to either half a kg or just avoided tomato altogether in Thane, Bandra and Andheri markets. Last week vendors at the APMC market termed bad weather, demonetisation and farmers' strike to the reason behind the tomato price hike.
In June, Twitterati saw red, when tomato prices soared to Rs 80-100 per kg in retail markets across the country and were predicted to remain elevated for at least next two months. The sharp increase in rates at the time was believed to be due to the damage caused to the rabi crop because of a severe drought in southern states.
