Tomato prices rise sharply, retails at Rs 90 per kg in Delhi-NCR: Report

Tomato prices have surged up to Rs 90 per kilogram in multiple cities across the nation, and is likely to impact millions of households.

The price of the staple for many curries in the Indian cuisine shot up to Rs 90 per kilogram in multiple cities including metros like Delhi-NCR and Mumbai, reported The Economic Times.

Several factors have caused this price hike. Severe heatwave conditions in states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala have disrupted the supply and production of tomatoes.

High temperatures in key growing regions such as Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh led to a 35% reduction in tomato arrivals, according to a report by CRISIL.

Additionally, heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh damaged roads, further reducing the supply to major consumption centres, as reported by ET last week.

As of July 7, the average retail price of tomatoes was Rs 59.87 per kg, up from Rs 35 a month ago, marking an increase of over 70%, according to the price monitoring division of the Consumer Affairs Ministry. On popular digital services like Amazon Fresh, Swiggy, and Zepto, tomato prices are hovering at Rs 80-90 in many parts of the country.

By July 5, the average tomato prices across India had reached Rs 59.88 per kg, continuing an upward trend from May, according to the Centre for Economic Data and Analysis (CEDA). In North India, tomatoes are retailing around Rs 50 per kg, while in the North East, West, and South, the prices are Rs 71, Rs 60.5, and Rs 60 respectively.

Vegetable prices usually rise during the monsoon months as rain affects harvesting, including plucking and packaging. Last year, heavy rainfall and flash floods pushed tomato prices to over Rs 350 per kg in some markets.

The cost of preparing a home-cooked vegetarian thali increased by 10% in June due to sharp rises in the prices of tomato, onion, and potato (TOP), according to a CRISIL report.

Tomato prices went up by 30%, onion prices by 46%, and potato prices by 59% (all on an annual basis), CRISIL noted. This surge in vegetable prices has been largely due to adverse factors impacting supply.

Food prices, historically volatile, now make up nearly half of the overall consumer price basket. Even though inflation dropped to 4.75% in May, this doesn’t provide much comfort to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The RBI aims to bring down inflation to its target of 4% but faces challenges due to rising food prices.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das warned on June 7 that the exceptionally hot summer and low reservoir levels might cause further stress on the summer crop of vegetables and fruits.

Food inflation increased by 8.69% year-on-year in May, slightly down from 8.70% in April. Food prices have consistently risen at an annual rate exceeding 8% since November 2023. Wholesale inflation hit a 15-month high due to rising food article prices.

In May, vegetable inflation was 32.42%, up from 23.60% the previous month. Onion inflation was at 58.05%, while potato was 64.05%. Pulses inflation rose to 21.95% in May.