Pune: Prices of tomatoes, onions go down

  • | Sunday | 18th March, 2018

In Maharashtra, the wholesale markets of Junnar in Pune and Pimpalgaon in Nashik are major hubs of tomato trade. Maharashtra has seen a 10-15 per cent rise in area under cultivation for both onions and tomatoes. Onions, which till recently, were trading above the Rs 20 per kg mark, has also started trading below the Rs 10 per kg at most wholesale markets. Just about a month ago, onions were trading at Rs 15.50 per kg at this market, a steady fall of over 50 per cent. (Image used for representational purpose) Onions, which till recently, were trading above the Rs 20 per kg mark, has also started trading below the Rs 10 per kg at most wholesale markets.

Onions, which till recently, were trading above the Rs 20 per kg mark, has also started trading below the Rs 10 per kg at most wholesale markets. (Image used for representational purpose) Onions, which till recently, were trading above the Rs 20 per kg mark, has also started trading below the Rs 10 per kg at most wholesale markets. (Image used for representational purpose) A little over a month since the Union Budget declared a special “Operation Green” for tomato, onion and potato growers, prices of at least the first two produces seem to be touching an all-time low in the state. With wholesale prices of both the commodities going down to single digits, most farmers are staring at major agrarian distress. In Maharashtra, the wholesale markets of Junnar in Pune and Pimpalgaon in Nashik are major hubs of tomato trade. On Friday, the Pimpalgaon’s market had recorded the arrival of 695 crates of tomatoes, and the average traded price per crate was Rs 61. With a crate containing 20 kg of tomato, the average price per kg works out to be Rs 3 at the wholesale markets. Similarly, at the Narayangaon wholesale market, 6,330 crates of the produce had arrived, and the average traded price of a crate was Rs 60, which also translates to Rs 3 per kg. Junnar is normally the hub of summer tomatoes, while Pimpalgaon mostly gets the the winter crop. Onions, which till recently, were trading above the Rs 20 per kg mark, has also started trading below the Rs 10 per kg at most wholesale markets. At Lasalgaon’s wholesale market in Nashik’s Niphad taluka, the average traded price of onion was Rs 7.54 per kg, with the market recording the arrival of 15,140 quintals of the bulb. Just about a month ago, onions were trading at Rs 15.50 per kg at this market, a steady fall of over 50 per cent. Maharashtra has seen a 10-15 per cent rise in area under cultivation for both onions and tomatoes. Shriram Ghadhave, president of the Vegetable Growers Association of India (VGAI), attributed this growth to the good rainfall received in the state last year. “As against the 2.5 lakh hectares of tomato area, this year, we have about 3 lakh hectares under the crop. Even places like Beed, Aurangabad and Parbhani, which normally do not see cultivation of summer tomatoes, have planted the crop,” he said. A similar situation has resulted in the steep price fall in case of onions also. Ghadhave added that inter-state trade has almost stopped with traders from north India absent from the market. For all the latest Pune News, download Indian Express App

If You Like This Story, Support NYOOOZ

NYOOOZ SUPPORTER

NYOOOZ FRIEND

Your support to NYOOOZ will help us to continue create and publish news for and from smaller cities, which also need equal voice as much as citizens living in bigger cities have through mainstream media organizations.


Stay updated with all the Pune Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.

Related Articles