Tomato skyrockets to Rs 150/kg in some markets including Delhi

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

tomato prices. The price of the kitchen staple has soared from Rs 15 per kg in early May to a mind-boggling Rs 120-150 per kg now in various regions across the country. Household budgets are going haywire as online vegetable-selling apps too have seen rates jumping, with Blinkit selling tomatoes at Rs 150 per kg, news agency IANS reported on Tuesday.

Tomatoes, along with potatoes and onions, are a constant in most Indian kitchens. The recent surge in their prices has severely hit monthly budgets of many households in the country. And it's not just tomatoes.

According to wholesale traders, price of a number of other vegetables have doubled in one week; besides, their sales have gone down by 40 per cent. “I am selling tomatoes at Rs 120 per kg while bottle gourd (lauki) is being sold at Rs 60 per kg. The coriander, which we usually gave as complimentary, is now at 300 per kg.

Cauliflower is at Rs 160 per kg and ginger is being sold at Rs 400 per kg,” the news agency quoted a wholesale dealer of vegetables in Delhi and Noida as saying. English cucumber rate has spiked to Rs 62 per 500 g–600 g. Green peas is at Rs 43 per 250 gram, Blinkit listings showed.

The spike in tomato prices is a result of the the impact of heavy rains on supply chains, market people said. Heavy rainfall is likely to have affected cultivation, transportation and overall availability of tomatoes, resulting in scarcity and a subsequent rise in prices in retail markets, IANS reported quoting market players. In the national capital, the sharp increase in tomato prices is a function of limited supply from states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, a wholesaler told the agency.