Nagpur: Salads are missing their main ingredient and curries are crying out for that tangy taste. Even sandwiches are being served without the slices of these juicy gems — tomatoes. The key ingredient in countless Indian recipes, tomatoes are facing shortage in the current season and its prices are going out of reach of many.
The kitchen staple that was easily available at every nook and corner of Nagpur at a price of less than Rs 10 per kg till the recent past, has seen a price tag of Rs 100 per kg in retail markets. A trader said that for the last eight to ten days, the tomato prices are witnessing a hike and it seems that the trend will continue for the next one month.
He further said that there is a shortage of most of the vegetables and its prices are soaring high. But tomatoes are worst affected in the current season. On Tuesday, tomatoes were sold at a price of Rs 60-65 per kg in the wholesale market. The prevailing prices are almost six to eight times more than that of the prices during the normal days. As per a rough estimate, people here in the city need more than 30-35 trucks of tomatoes per day. However, only one fourth of the required quantity of it is arriving here in the current season.
In addition to this, the tomatoes are arriving from far off places like Bengaluru and Sangamner due to which the prices are going up dramatically. Tomatoes are also in short supply in many parts of South India at this point in time. But farmers in places like Bagepalli and Kolar are supplying tomatoes to sellers in Nagpur. Small quantities of tomatoes are also arriving here from Solapur and Aurangabad, but it is not enough to fulfil the city’s demand.
