As tomato prices rise by 341%, what next for J&K?

14 July 2023

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Srinagar, July 14: As the tomato crisis gets worse across the country, vegetable mandis and retail markets across Jammu & Kashmir, particularly Kashmir, Chenab and Pirpanjal regions have almost run almost out of tomato supplies.

Pertinently, tomato prices have skyrocketed more than 300% in July, and sources in Delhi’s Azadpur Mandi told Ziraat Times that the prices of tomatoes are expected to even reach Rs 300 per kg in the coming weeks.

Tomato prices surged 341% year-to-date, from 24.68 rupees per kg to 108.92 rupees per kg as of July 11, data released by the Department of Consumer Affairs this week shows.In comparison to July last year, tomato prices have surged 166% according to government data. Leading tomato traders at Srinagar’s Parimpora Sabzi Mandi told Ziraat Times that they had stopped exporting tomatoes from other states as consumers are not in a position to bear their high costs.

“Already the price is very high in markets outside. Then, we have the recurring problem with long traffic logjams on Srinagar-Jammu highway, which damages vegetables and escalates costs. And then if we try to sell at per the buying costs in the retail markets, government squads penalise us. So, we have decided not to import tomatoes for now”, a leading trader at Parimpora said.

In Jammu, the situation is almost the same. Traders at the Narwal Sabzi Market told Ziraat Times that consumers were not in a position to buy tomatoes at such a price. “So, we are avoiding importing tomatoes”, a trader said. While Jammu & Kashmir does produce tomatoes, the production is not able to meet the demand. When asked if tomato production could not be enhanced in Kashmir, Nazir Ahmed, a progressive farmer from Budgam told Ziraat Times that there was no culture of large scale commercial farming of tomatoes in Kashmir for multiple reasons.

“Firstly, the land is limited. Then the crop is highly perishable. It does not get the kind of returns which a farmer would like to compared with the production costs. As such, people grow tomatoes in their kitchen garden mostly for their domestic consumption.”, Nazir Ahmed said.

J&K mostly imports tomatoes from southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka during summer and Uttar Pradesh during autumn and winter months.

According to reports, flooding in major tomato producing states like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka has been a key driver to the price surge – India’s National Institute of Biotic Stresses Management, a council dedicated to agricultural research, said.India is the second largest producer of tomatoes in the world. Lately, the rise of the tomato mosaic virus has also resulted in varying degrees of crop damage, ranging from partial to total losses.

Vikas Gupta, a trader at Azadpur Mandi told Ziraat Times that rates are expected to subside after mid-August after fresh produce will be pushed into the market.