Bhubaneswar, Nov. 12: Tomato was sold today for Rs 55 a kilogram and more in the retail market, an increase of about Rs 20 from last week.

Short supply is apparently to blame for the rise in the vegetable's price.

Vegetable merchants in the city said that with the bulk of the supply from Bangalore going to Pakistan and Bangladesh, where tomato production has seen a slump, the vegetable has become scarce in the Indian market.

Home-maker Rashmi Parida put the blame for the shortage on the lack of initiatives to raise the crop locally. "Most of the agricultural lands around the city have gone to real-estate agents. We need more farmland and more production," she said.

She also alleged that small vegetable vendors were trying to fleece buyers. Some vendors sold it for even Rs 70 a kilogram to gullible customers.

Santosh Kumar Sahoo, proprietor of the SKS Vegetable Merchants, the largest trader of vegetables and the major suppliers of the imported vegetables from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, told The Telegraph: "Normally, we need nearly 60 tonnes of tomatoes for Bhubaneswar and an additional 40 tonnes for the outskirts and places such as Puri and Jatni. However, the supply is now less than 50 tonnes."

Sahoo said the retailers were buying tomato from the wholesalers at Rs 900 to Rs 1,000 a tray containing 25kg. Consequently, the buying price per kilogram is around Rs 40. "With transportation charges and losses caused by damage, tomato in the open market should not be sold for more than Rs 50," he said.

"The new tomato crop is likely to hit the market within a fortnight and once it is available, the prices will come down," said general secretary of the Unit-I Daily Traders' Association Gayadhar Swain.

Last July, tomato was sold for Rs 60 a kg. However, during that time, the price for a 25kg tray was Rs 1,250, making the purchasing price around Rs 54 a kg.

"This year, the wholesale price is much less. So, it is the attitude of the retailers that is costing people dear," said Swain.