Tomato growers feel cheated: Potatoes, Chillies and Onions next

Hassan: The Tomato turmoil what it is called in the elite consumers clubs will go on for some more time, the prices might reach Rs. 300 per kg which has been predicted by the market functionaries in Yeshwanthpur in Bengaluru and Santhepete in Hassan which are the largest aggregating markets for vegetables grown within the political jurisdiction in the state.

But before the prices started spiralled even the Bengaluru and Hassan markets were bought over by Haryana and NCR-based super supply chain bulkheads for unrealistic prices and stored the tomatoes at vantage points in Bengaluru, Hassan, Belagavi, Shivamogga and Mysuru and stocks were released to the retail sales in a phased manner on the basis of prices commandeered by the super wholesellers in Haryana and NCR. “It is a technique of forward trading gone beserk and tweaked for optimum results by the speculators and hoarders.

The wholesalers get a daily blotter of prices from Haryana and NCR regulating the prices daily. The Super wholesalers are even now are indenting stocks from the growers through their agents and mopping up every last kg of Tomatoes from Karnataka which is one of the largest growing states in the country” said Nagarajaiah of Chennarayapatna in Hassan district.

But is it, not the Tomatoes a perishable commodity? When asked a scientist in Gandhi Krishi Vijnana Kendra of the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bengaluru stated on conditions of anonymity, the Tomato as we know it in modern times is not the same Tomato ten years back. It is thick in pulp and composition and covered with a thick outer skin and can be held against the natural process of ripening for a fortnight, but if kept in storage conditions it can survive for over a month, these are hybrid varieties genetically modified. The hyper-local variety that they usually use as an alternative to tamarind in making a variety of curries all over India is now discontinued by the farmers for a variety of reasons, particularly the short shelf duration.

Member of the APMC in Santhepete, Krishne Gowda says “Almost all stock that we have now stored in the APMCs all across the state are sold to super wholesalers and we are not at liberty to sell them in the market except on the prices that are mentioned on the daily blotter. However, in hyper retail markets in smaller towns locally grown Tomatoes with thin skin and akin to fast deterioration is still being sold at Rs. 50 per kg. This variety of tomatoes is harvested at the end of the monsoon period and is not touched by the wholesalers or their bosses in the NCR.

Onions, Potatoes and Chillies Next?

The Tomato prices will taper down to their pre-speculation market prices sooner than we think. But then the speculators and hoarders are ready with the list of three other commodities -Chillies(green) Potatoes and Onions. The prices of Chillies have already started showing an upward trend rising from Rs.100 to Rs. 120 and soon may rise up to Rs. 180 per Kg. The Potato growers in semi-arid and rain-fed areas are already being contacted by the super wholesalers, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra are the prime growing areas for Potatoes and also Onions. Karnataka grows 16 per cent of the total output of the country and the first signs of spiralling of prices may also show in Karnataka, the market functionaries say. Indian cuisine cannot survive without Tomatoes, Chillies, Potatoes and Onions and these four commodities will be on the list of speculators and hoarders in the future unless government tightens anti-hoarding and speculation rules, but then the super wholesalers also control a large section of politicos.(eom)