Maharashtra: Farmers dump tomatoes on roads as prices drop to Rs 2-3 per kg in Nashik

Farmers in Nashik, Maharashtra, dumped crates of tomatoes on the road on Wednesday. The farmers were seen doing this after wholesale market prices fell to Rs 2-3 per kg. Tomato and potato prices, which have been around 50% lower on a month-to-month basis since January 2021, have dropped even more. As per reports, the farmers threw the produce on the roadways to catch the attention of the state administration.

Farmers throw tomato crates on roads after prices drop to around Rs. 3/kg in Maharashtra

Nashik is a district in north Maharashtra. It is well known for tomato farming and onions. Farmers here, however, who are currently in despair, dumped boxes of tomatoes on the road when wholesale market prices plummeted to Rs 4.5 per kg and then continued to drop lower. Nashik's Pimpalgaon Baswant market is one of the country's largest tomato trade markets. Pimpalgaon exports tomatoes to Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, and Haryana, among other places. Onions are also exported.

Steep drop in wholesale prices of tomatoes 

Tomatoes are grown by about 10 lakh farmers in the Nashik district. This accounts for over 20% of the country's total production. For the past two days, a group of irritated tomato growers have thrown their produce on roadways near several ‘mandis'. In the previous three weeks, wholesale tomato prices have decreased by roughly 65%, from Rs 13 per kg to around Rs 4.5 per kg. Wholesale prices have dropped, according to Nashik APMC personnel, due to a huge increase in supply with regards to the comparatively lower demand both within Maharashtra and throughout the country. The tomato season in Nashik begins in August, and the ‘mandis' begin to fill up in September.

APMC states excess supply as cause for price drop 

The quantity of tomatoes in the market has doubled, according to Nashik APMC Secretary Arun Kale. He reportedly said that the quantity has gone from 20,000 crates (20 kg per crate) to 47,000 crates per day. However, there is a lack of demand. The daily arrival of tomatoes in the ‘mandis' in the Nashik district was over 50,000 crates per day in August last year. It has risen to approximately 2.75 lakh crates every day this year. The pricing of agricultural produce in the state is looked after by Maharashtra State Agriculture Marketing Board (MSAMB). Former Minister of State for Agriculture and MLC Sadabhau Khot reportedly met tomato growers in Nashik on Thursday and demanded that the state government provide a subsidy of Rs 10 per kg for the tomato farmers.

(IMAGE: ANI - Twitter)