Tomato prices soar to over Rs 100 per kg in many parts of India; check what's driving the price hike

Tomato prices have soared across the country and are being sold in the range of Rs 80-120 per kg in the retail market. The sudden rise in prices has forced consumers across the country to cut short the consumption of tomatoes.

According to a report by news agency ANI, tomatoes are being sold at Rs 80 per kg in the national capital, while in Bengaluru and Kanpur, the prices have shot up to Rs 100 per kg. In many parts of the country, prices have even escalated to over Rs 120 per kg as well.

"Last week the price of tomato was between Rs 40-50 per kg. This week the price is Rs 100 kg. It has suddenly soared up. Other vegetable prices are also high," Parul, a resident in Bengaluru, told ANI. Another resident in Delhi said that the rate has suddenly shot up in the last two to three days.

Suraj Gaur, a resident in Bengaluru stated, "Earlier, the price of tomato was Rs 30 per kg, after that I bought it for Rs 50 per kg and now it has become Rs 100 per kg. Price is going to go up further and we're helpless, we have to buy".

Farmers have cited production shortages, triggered by the extreme heat and delayed arrival of the monsoon as the cause of the recent price hike. The sudden rise in the prices of tomato could be a fresh inflation trigger for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), following a sharp decline over the past few months.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, however, in recent statements had already highlighted that concerns over inflation still persist due to the El Nino forecast.

An Economic Times report noted that tomato prices have doubled in the past couple of days in Delhi, as supply from neighbouring states like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana has reduced.

With the rise in prices of tomatoes, vegetable vendors claim that many consumers who would earlier buy one kilogram or more tomatoes have now switched to buying half a kilogram or less tomatoes.

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