Govt confident higher production in August will bring down tomato prices

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

central government is expecting the produce of tomatoes to increase from 2,23,000 MT in July to 5,44,000 MT in August in major producer states, bringing down prices of the vegetable and providing respite to consumers. «As the production in major growing areas especially in Himachal Pradesh go up, we will see cooling down of prices,» according to a senior official from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. The harvest in Himachal Pradesh, which is the main source of tomatoes in the national capital region and other northern markets, is expected to jump from 2,000 MT in July to 30,000 MT in August, providing relief to consumers.

The production in other states such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are also expected to rise significantly in August, September and October. It is expected to touch 9,56,000 MT in September and 13,33,000 MT in October. Excessive rains and floods in northern and northwestern states in July inundated fields and damaged standing crops, affecting the supply of tomatoes pushing the retail prices beyond the ₹200 mark in Delhi market.

The arrival in Himachal Pradesh in July was reduced to 1505 MT compared to 10875 MT in July 2022. «There is an area damage of 7800 hectare out of the total sown area of 14500 hectare of kharif tomatoes in Himachal Pradesh resulting in reduced production,» the official said. According to a report by CRISIL, the cost of a vegetarian thali rose 28% month-on-month on account of high tomato prices.