By Swathy Jayaprakash
Price of tomatoes across the country has risen drastically. In Tamil Nadu the tomatoes were sold at Rs 10 in the wholesale markets just one month ago but now they’re being sold at Rs 48-60.
In Tamil Nadu the major tomato producing districts are Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem, Tirupur, Theni and Dindigul. The area under tomato cultivation in India is 8.31 lakh hectares with a production of 203 lakh tonnes in the country, according to the National Horticulture Board.
Tamil Nadu stands with other states in the list of tomato growing states along with Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal. The state contributes 7% share of total tomato production in India.
“Farmers crushed tomatoes with the tomato plants as wholesale price drops at 1-Rs 2/Kilo, this was the scenario in April month where we produced a lot of tomatoes and the price went down. But now it’s sold above Rs 70 and it even went to Rs 100 in certain states in India. Unseasonal rains and the heat waves were the reasons for the tomato price hike,” said Mathivanan, a farmer from Coimbatore.
“If we plant 2000 saplings we can save only 1500 saplings. The rest are getting dried either due heatwaves and it gets rotten due to seasonal rain. We are striving hard to produce food,” added Mathivanan.
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University said, “Farmers can get the best price for their produce only in Aadi Pattam (July – August). This Aadi Pattam is an important seasoning under a rainfed system in the state. The monsoon determines the production of crops sown during this season. If the Tomatoes are sown in this season then the price would go around Rs 20-23/kg.”
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