Govt may buy tomatoes to help farmers as prices fall
NEW DELHI : A crash in tomato prices in parts of the country has prompted the government to consider purchasing them to protect farmers, two officials aware of the matter said. The idea is to use the consumer affairs ministry’s price stabilization fund (PSF), typically used to cool vegetable prices, to lift stocks from areas flooded with tomatoes and sell them in markets nearby where prices are more remunerative.
The development comes against the backdrop of reports of distressed farmers in some states dumping produce and using them as cattle feed after tomato prices plunged to as low as ₹3-10 a kg last week from more than ₹250 a kg a month in August. The lowest prices have been seen in the biggest markets of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh after a bumper yield sparked an avalanche of tomatoes.
The agriculture ministry expects tomato production to rise significantly in key producing states such as Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh in the August-October period, which would put more pressure on prices. Production is expected to reach 956,000 tonnes in September and 1.3 million tonnes in October.
“The horticulture department is in discussions with the department of consumer affairs, food and public distribution to do a small intervention worth ₹10-20 crore to help tomato farmers in some pockets get out of the glut-like situation, as prices are not falling across the country. The initial discussion indicates that the intervention could be under PSF like we did for onions," one of two officials said on condition of anonymity.
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