India has started importing tomatoes from Nepal, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament amid a record-high spike in prices in the country. The first lot of imports are likely to reach by Friday in Varanasi, Lucknow and Kanpur, Sitharaman added.
Recently, the price of tomatoes was as high as Rs 300 per kg in many states because of supply disruption due to heavy rains. The price came down for a brief period after the government intervened but the rates are up again.
Tomato prices have surged more than 1,400 percent at wholesale markets to a record Rs 140 per kg in the past three months. "As on date, the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd. (NCCF) has distributed 8,84,612 kgs of tomatoes in Rajasthan, Delhi-NCR and Uttar Pradesh. As of today, we have booked tomatoes through Kolar mandi - coming to Delhi at Rs 85/kg," Sitharaman said.
She added that the NCCF is planning a mega-sale of tomatoes in Delhi-NCR at a subsidised rate of Rs 70/kg this weekend.
Indians travelling to Nepal to buy tomatoes
According to media reports, people living in border areas in Uttarakhand have been travelling to Nepal to buy tomatoes. While the price in India is Rs 120 per kg, they are available for Rs 70-75 per kg in Nepal.
“Tomato supply has been affected across the country for the last two months owing to weather abnormalities. In the last two days, arrivals in Azadpur, which is the main feeder for Delhi, have also dropped drastically. Due to short supply, prices have sharply shot up in wholesale, resulting in impact at retail prices too," a Mother Dairy spokesperson said.
Wholesale prices of tomatoes at Azadpur mandi in the national capital, Asia's largest wholesale fruits and vegetables market, were on August 9 at Rs 170-220 per kg, depending on the quality.
In mid-July, two carts carrying tomatoes were seized at the Indo-Nepal border. Import of tomatoes from Nepal is banned in India. The vehicles were intercepted by border police and were sent to the Indian Customs Office at the border. Officials, however, let the smugglers go in exchange for money, the Times of India reported.
The officials were later suspended.
Tomatoes may cost Rs 300 per kg
Tomato prices are likely to touch Rs 300 per kg in the coming days, according to wholesale traders. Kaushik, a member of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), said that vegetable wholesalers are facing losses as the sale of tomato, capsicum, and other seasonal vegetables has fallen drastically.
"There is a lot of difficulty in the transportation of vegetables due to landslides and heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh. It takes 6 to 8 hours more than usual in the exportation of vegetables from the producers due to which the price of tomato might reach nearly Rs 300 per kg," Azadpur Mandi wholesaler Sanjai Bhagat told PTI.
Vegetarian thali got dearer
The inflation in the thalis is largely driven by the 233 percent jump in tomato prices to Rs 110 per kg in July from Rs 33 in June, the report said.
The increase in the prices of onion and potato contributed further to the increase in cost, the report added.
