If you are going to buy vegetables in the market, then be prepared to be surprised by the price of tomatoes. Tomato prices have suddenly increased across the country and have increased by almost 50% in just 10 to 15 days. In many places, the price of good quality tomatoes has reached Rs 100 per kg, due to which the kitchen budget has been completely shaken. In such a situation, the question is, how did tomatoes become so expensive suddenly?

According to government data, retail prices of tomatoes have increased by 25% to 100% in the last one month. All India average retail price has increased from Rs 36/kg to Rs 46/kg, i.e. a jump of 27%. The biggest increase has been recorded in Chandigarh by 112%. Whereas in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, prices have increased by more than 40% in a month.

Why did tomatoes become expensive?

The biggest reason for tomato inflation is the excessive rain in October, which caused huge damage to the crop in many states. Because of this the supply suddenly reduced. In Maharashtra, one of the major tomato supply states, wholesale prices have jumped 45% compared to last month. Whereas in Delhi, which is the main distribution center of northern India, wholesale prices have increased by 26%.

Less trucks coming from Maharashtra and Gujarat

The situation of short supply can be gauged from the fact that the number of trucks coming from Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat has reduced by more than half. Ashok Koshik, chairman of the Tomato Traders Association of Azadpur, Asia’s largest vegetable market, said that the excessive rains in October have caused great damage to the crops, due to which the supply has been badly affected. According to traders, the demand for tomatoes has increased due to the increasing wedding season and the upcoming New Year celebrations, due to which the pressure on prices has increased further.

Inflation rate in October

Interestingly, just a month ago falling prices of onion, potato and tomato had pushed retail inflation down to 0.25%, the lowest since 2013. At that time a deflation of 42.9% was recorded in tomatoes, but now this fire of inflation has flared up again.