Will the price of tomatoes hit century in Odisha? Well, the ongoing trend seems to indicate that way as the price of tomato per kg has almost tripled in the past three to four days.
At present, people are forced to purchase tomatoes which is one of the essential vegetables at Rs 80 to Rs 90 per kg. The rate was around Rs 20 to 25 a few days back in different parts of the State.
It is pertinent to mention here that already people in Odisha faced a lot of inconvenience following rise in the prices of lemon last month. The steep rise in the tomato rates has now started to hit the people hard as it is one of the essential items that goes with almost all dishes. Besides, a lot of people prefer it as salad.
“Tomatoes were being sold at Rs 20 to 25 per kg some days back. Now the prices vary from Rs 50 to 60 to Rs 80 to Rs 90 per kg. Earlier, we used to buy around 2 to 3 kgs at a time, but now it is even hard to go for a half-a-kilo,” said a resident of Cuttack.
Traders attributed the price rise to lack of local production. Due to insufficient production, bulk of the tomato stock is being imported from other states for which the prices are on higher side.
Devendranath Sahoo, secretary of Chhatrabazar traders’ association said, “We are now depending on stock from other states due to drop in local production. It will take another 15 days’ time for the prices to stabilise.”