Smaller area sown, ruined crop: why tomato has hit Rs 100/ kg

Why are prices of herb rising, and for however agelong volition this concern last?

Why prices are up

The main reasons for the abrupt terms spike is little than expected sowing, and demolition of market-ready harvest successful immoderate parts of the herb portion owed to dense rainfall successful the past week of September, farmers said.

As of September 20, full sowing of 1.98 lakh hectares (lh) of kharif herb was reported, acold beneath the people of 2.89 lh. On this day past year, 2.20 lh of kharif herb had been sown.

Unlike onion, which is grown thrice a year, determination is lone a kharif and a rabi tomato. Kharif herb is grown chiefly successful Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana; the rabi harvest is grown successful parts of Maharashtra and parts of Karnataka.

Rabi herb is transplanted successful February-March and harvested aft astir 160 days. The kharif harvest is transplanted aft June-July, and transplantation tin proceed till September successful parts of Maharashtra.

Abhijit Gholap, a herb grower from Junnar taluka of Pune territory said the utmost vigor of past twelvemonth nudged galore farmers to determination from herb to crops similar maize this year. “The rabi herb harvest could not withstand sustained temperatures of much than 40 degrees Celsius,” helium said.

Area nether maize successful the state has gone up from 84.56 lh past twelvemonth to 88.50 lh this year. Resilience of the harvest successful utmost upwind and accrued request from grain-based ethanol manufacturers are reasons for the popularity of maize.

Many farmers had complained of bacterial and viral illness attacks connected their herb harvest past kharif. Tomato is currency intensive — and farmers specified arsenic Gholap accidental it needs a superior input of astatine slightest Rs 1-2 lakh per acre. With bacterial and viral diseases expanding the input cost, herb is often not remunerative. “This is different crushed wherefore farmers person moved away,” helium said.

When volition prices fall?

The modal (average) terms of herb astatine the wholesale marketplace of Pimpalgaon Baswant successful Nashik is presently astir Rs 52-55/kg. Prices are expected to enactment astatine this level oregon adjacent emergence further successful the coming days, Gholap and different farmers said. Fresh harvests successful Nashik and Telangana aft Dussehra volition proviso the marketplace for immoderate time, but prices are apt to emergence again arsenic different proviso compression follows.

Since the adjacent harvest volition deed the marketplace lone astir March, nary important simplification successful retail prices of herb is apt successful the adjacent future.