After onions, tomatoes denting kitchen budget; 44% Indian households paying over Rs 60/kg for it

New Delhi: After soaring onion prices, now retail prices of tomatoes are denting the kitchen budget of the common man across the country.

A survey by LocalCircles has found that retail prices of vegetables, especially tomatoes have surged at painstaking rates across states of India as supplies drop due to heavy rain and flash floods, upsetting homemakers to manage their domestic budget at a time when the earnings of many households across the country have been hit due to the ongoing pandemic. 

In Delhi, for instance, many consumers have reported on LocalCircles that they have paid between Rs 70-120/kg for tomatoes in the last 60 days. Prices crossed Rs 100/kg in other large cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai and even in tier 2 cities prices are now over Rs 70/kg. Reports of 50% price increase in prices of tomatoes have come from households across most states of India in the last 60 days.  

LocalCircles is a Community Social Media platform and pollster on issues of governance, public and consumer interest. The study found that 31% of households said they are paying “Rs 50-59 for tomato”, 23% said they are paying “Rs 60-69 for tomato”, 21% said they are paying “Rs 70 or higher for tomato”, and only 8% said they are paying “Rs 30-49 for tomato”. 17% of household representatives couldn’t say. On an aggregate basis, 44% of households said they are paying more than Rs 60/Kg for tomatoes. This question in the survey received 10,025 responses.

An unregulated hike in the price of both these vegetables is not new to the country. A survey released by LocalCircles in October 2020 had found that 70% of households are spending 25-100% higher on vegetables, including tomatoes. Experts, citing government data, say that the trade of these perishable vegetables in the retail market goes up at different rates across states due to several factors from disrupted supplies, unchecked trade regulation, and the high prices of diesel that crossed Rs 100 in many states before excise duty by Center and VAT rate cut by several State Governments were announced in early November. 

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