Tomato Prices Soar to Rs 90 per kg Amid Monsoon Impact on Supply

Tomato prices in city markets have surged to Rs 90 per kg due to disrupted supplies caused by heavy monsoon rains. This price hike affects both retail and wholesale markets, resulting in disappointment among residents who witnessed a sharp increase from previously lower prices.

Tomato prices in the city markets have surged to Rs 90 per kg as supplies have taken a hit due to monsoon rains lashing many states across the country, several vegetable vendors said on Tuesday.

The rates of tomatoes have also gone up in the major wholesale vegetable markets of Delhi, including Azadpur Mandi, Ghazipur Mandi, and Okhla Sabzi Mandi.

Several residents in the city expressed disappointment over the rising prices of tomatoes in their local markets and online retail platforms. "Just a few days back, we bought tomatoes for Rs 28 per kg but now it is selling for Rs 90 per kg online and in the local market. Vegetables have become costlier," said a local of Laxmi Nagar locality.

"The rates have soared up to Rs 50 per kg even in wholesale markets due to the rains. This is because the supply of tomatoes has decreased in the past week. The number of trucks that used to ferry these farm produce from states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Himachal Pradesh have gone down because of heavy rains affecting transportation," Sanjay Bhagat, a wholesale vegetable vendor in Azadpur Mandi, said.

Earlier, tomato rates were somewhere around Rs 30-35 per kg but in the last week, it has spiked to Rs 60-70 in the wholesale markets, said Parveet, a vendor at Ghazipur Sabzi Mandi. According to another vendor in the Okhla vegetable market, prices of tomatoes have surged drastically in the last week as the crop was damaged due to rains. Tomatoes do not have a long shelf life, and therefore they rot very quickly. As a result of rains, supplies have been affected, leading to a rise in prices, the vendor said. Several states across the country have been receiving heavy rains due to the arrival of the monsoon.