Amid skyrocketing vegetable prices, tomatoes worth ₹2.5 lakhs stolen from Karnataka farmer

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₹2.5 lakhs were stolen from her farm in the Hassan district on Tuesday, said the police official. This came amid the soaring prices of tomatoes in the country. Dharani, a woman farmer who grew tomatoes on two acres of land, said they planned to cut the crop and transport it to market as the price reached over ₹120 per kilogram in Bengaluru.

“We incurred huge losses in bean harvest and had taken loans to grow tomatoes. We had a good harvest and prices were also high. Apart from taking 50-60 bags of tomatoes, the thieves also destroyed the remaining standing crop," Dharani told media persons.

The official informed that a complaint had been filed at Halebeedu police station, according to the news agency ANI. Some media reports stated that tomato prices in Delhi's Safal store touched Rs129 per kg on Wednesday, leaving consumers wondering if they should stop eating the red vegetable. Similarly, tomato prices in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad went up to ₹150/kg on Wednesday.

“The price of vegetables has increased a lot. Tomatoes are being sold at Rs150 per kg. Customers are facing a lot of problems due to the price hike.

I request the government to intervene and regularise the vegetable prices," a tomato customer in Moradabad told ANI. India's consumer price index (CPI) inflation eased sharply to 4.25 per cent in May hitting a 25-month low and came under the Reserve Bank of India's upper tolerance limit of 6 per cent for the third straight month. May's retail inflation declined from 4.7 per cent recorded in April 2023 and 7.04 per cent in the year-ago period.