Vegetable prices in Kerala are bothering consumers still reeling under the financial crisis brought by the COVID-19 lockdowns and curbs. The price of tomatoes has skyrocketed to Rs 120 per kilogram at many retail outlets from Rs 45 in the first week of November.
The sharp rise in tomato prices in major cities of south India is being attributed to widespread moderate to heavy rainfall since the first week of November. The tomato crop has been damaged due to the rain and it has led to a shortage in its supply.
People in Kerala’s Kottayam have to pay ₹120 per kg of tomatoes, those in Ernakulam ₹110 per kg, Thiruvananthapuram ₹103 per kg, Palakkad ₹100 per kg, Thrissur ₹97 per kg and those in Wayanad and Kozhikode are buying them for ₹90 per kg.
In Chennai, a kilogram of tomato was being sold at ₹100, ₹90 per kg in Puducherry, ₹88 per kg in Bengaluru and ₹65 per kg in Hyderabad. In Karnataka, the price of tomato was ₹85 per kg in Dharwad, ₹84 per kg in Mysuru, ₹80 a kg in Mangaluru and ₹78 per kg in Bellary.
