Tomato price touches 140 a kg in Madanapalle market

Madanapalle (Annamayya district): The tomato price is skyrocketed in the wholesale market here due to dip in arrival of produce in the market.

On Thursday, the first quality tomato price one box (10 kg) was sold at Rs 1,400 i.e Rs 140 a kg in Madanapalle tomato market, one of the biggest in the country.

With the wholesale price itself reaching Rs 140 a kg, the retailers selling the first quality tomato at Rs 180-200.

The tomato price which was a week back Rs 80 in the wholesale tomato market later crossed Rs 100 and now, touched Rs 140 making the produce very dearer to the people, who consume it more after onions.

A wholesale merchant in the Madanapalle market, said the arrival of tomato which was about 1,500 metric tonnes a day, now dipped to less than 1,000 MT resulting in the heavy demand pushing the price further.

He said due to virus attack to the crop, the tomato production was badly hit in Karnataka reducing the arrival in the neighbouring Madanapalle market and added that the same situation is likely to continue for few more weeks with the tomato harvest in other state producing it is only reaches a month later. The Madanapalle tomato has more demand as it is richer in quality and also has more shelf life, he added.

Meanwhile, a housewife in the pilgrim city, said that vendors and retail traders selling only third quality tomato at Rs 100 but the first quality is almost non-available indicating the good quality either exported or sold in other places where the demand for crop is very high.