PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, May 26: Available at Rs 40 a kilo in April, Rs 80 earlier this week and now at a new high of Rs 120, the prices of tomatoes have soared through the roof in Jamshedpur. Even a couple of days ago, prices were hovering between Rs 60 and Rs 80 a kilo.
The buzz in the markets is that a dip in production across the country has led to a shortfall in supply, coinciding with the season when local produce is not available. No immediate respite is in sight in the steel city.
“Supply has been hit badly,” a Mango-based retail trader in vegetables Rajesh Kumar said when asked why tomato prices zoomed northward.
Tomatoes from Patamda have stopped coming as the season has ended.
“Now, whatever little we are getting in Jamshedpur is from Bangalore, Nashik and neighbouring Bihar,” he said.
The trader went on to say that in April and early May, he would purchase 30 to 40kg of tomatoes from the wholesale market at a time, but now he bought only 5kg to 10kg.
Another trader said that they don’t have a cold storage facility.
“Buying wholesale tomatoes in bulk is risky as they get spoilt in four to five days. If I purchase in bulk and if customers don’t buy that much, I won’t be able to cope with the loss,” he explained.
A leading farmer of Patamda, Yadunath Gorai said that tomatoes from Gumla and Mandar in the Ranchi district are available in the market but their quality is not up to the mark.
The steep rise in tomato prices has forced many to tweak their menus.
A homemaker in Jamshedpur, Anandita Banerjee said she was judiciously using the 500gm tomatoes she bought yesterday for Rs 60 from a local market.
“Now that prices have shot up to Rs 120 per kilo, tomato gravies and chutneys are off my menu,” she said.
