Tomato prices surge to Rs 90 per kg in Delhi markets amid supply woes

Tomato prices in the city markets surged to Rs 90 per kg as supplies have taken a hit due to monsoon rains lashing many states across the country, several vegetable vendors said on Tuesday.

The rates of tomatoes have also gone up in the major wholesale vegetable markets of Delhi, including Azadpur Mandi, Ghazipur Mandi, and Okhla Sabzi Mandi.

Several residents in the city expressed disappointment over the rising prices of tomatoes in their local markets and online retailing platforms.

"Just a few days back, we bought tomatoes for Rs 28 kg but now it is selling for Rs 90 kg online and in the local market. Vegetables have become costlier," said a local of Laxmi Nagar locality.

"The rates have soared up to Rs 50 kg even in wholesale markets due to the rains. This is because the supply of tomatoes has decreased in the past one week. The number of trucks that used to ferry these farm produce from states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Himachal have gone down because of heavy rains affecting transportation," Sanjay Bhagat, a wholesale vegetable vendor in Azadpur Mandi, said.

Earlier, tomato rates were somewhere around Rs 30-35 kg but in the last one week it has spiked to Rs 60-70 in the wholesale markets, said Parveet, a vendor at Ghazipur Sabzi Mandi.

According to another vendor in the Okhala vegetable market, prices of tomatoes have surged drastically in the last one week as the crop was damaged due to rains.

Tomatoes do not have a long shelf life, and therefore they rot very quickly. As a result of rains, supplies have been affected, leading to a rise in prices, the vendor said.

Several states across the country have been receiving heavy rains due to the arrival of monsoon.