Solan: The soaring price of tomatoes is burning a hole in the common man's pocket for the last one month. The prices are unlikely to decrease soon. In such a situation, Himachal Pradesh's Solan vegetable market, which supplies tomatoes to many states, has witnessed a record hike in prices.
On Monday, Solan vegetable market sold tomatoes at Rs 4100 per crate (comprising 25-26 kg). Around 100-150 such crates were sold off to the traders from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi. Now, if the farmer gets around Rs 164 per kg imagine the price that a consumer will have to pay for it. Presently, tomatoes are being sold at Rs 200-240 in different cities.
Kishore Kumar, an agent of Solan vegetable market, said he has never seen tomatoes being sold at such a high cost. "On Monday itself, the price has risen from Rs 3500 to Rs 4,000 in the market. This year, there has been a lower cultivation in Himachal Pradesh which has led to the price hike," he said.
Another agent Tirthanand Bhardwaj said that the price of tomatoes is fixed according to its quality. "The prices have varied between Rs 2800 and Rs 4,000. Tomatoes that are of premium quality were sold at Rs 4100 per crate. I have never seen anything like this in the last 27 years. Farmers will continue to get good prices for the time being," he said. He explained that a normal hybrid tomato was sold for Rs 2500 to 3100 per crate while the better quality Himsona variety was sold between Rs 3200 and 3500.
Nearly 10,000-12,000 crates of tomatoes are arriving at the Solan vegetable market from Solan, Sirmaur, Shimla and Mandi. "Due to the short shelf life of tomatoes, buyers always stress on quality. It is a big challenge to restore the quality of the vegetable while carrying it from Solan to Delhi, Punjab or Uttar Pradesh," Bharadwaj added.
