Tomato prices tumble in Solan

Tomato prices in Himachal Pradesh's tomato town of Solan, which soared to Rs 40 per kg a month ago, have now fallen to around Rs 3 per kg.

Just in the last week of last month the price of a 20-kg tomato box produced locally had touched Rs 700 per box. To meet the growing demand in the plains, traders from Haryana, Punjab and Delhi had been heading to the hills of Solan to buy this off-season vegetable.

Wholesalers had reportedly bought over 3,500 crates of tomato every day from Solan town market committees. Last week, however, prices came down to Rs 120 per box.

On Wednesday a 20-kg box of tomato was selling between Rs 50 and Rs 60 per box and Rs 3 per kg in the retail market in Solan market some 50 km from here.

The prices are equally low in the smaller markets in the suburbs of the town and there are fears that the prices could drop further.

Traders say some 15,000 boxes of tomato are arriving daily in the Solan market. Most of the vegetable find their way into other parts of state and neighbouring states.

The current harvest is likely to go on till late September and farmers are now worried about poor returns.

Tomato is the main cash crop of Solan and is cultivated in 4,000 hectares of land in this district which produces around 1.4 million tonnes every year. It is called an off-season vegetable as its harvest often begins at a time when the crop isn't ready in the plains.

This year has seen the largest fluctuation of tomatoes in a long time, say traders.