Tomato prices have soared in the past month, from Rs 25 per kilogram to Rs 100-Rs 110 per kilogram in Bhubaneswar. Lelin Mallick of The Telegraph speaks to traders, residents, and experts to find out the rationale behind the price rise

The problem

Tomato was being sold at Rs 25 a kilogram in various city markets just a month ago. The state's tomato farmers resorted to agitation in March and dumped quintals of the fruit on the roads to protest against distress sale. The price of the crop had even dipped to Re 1 per kilogram in Keonjhar, Angul and Bargarh during the summer, spurring the Opposition Congress and the BJP to demonstrate against the government.

Reason behind the price rise

The city is dependant on Karnataka for supply tomato with 20 trucks arriving daily. It has come down to three to four trucks over the past few days. Traders said the city's daily requirement was 100 tonnes of tomato, the supply of which has come down by almost 80 per cent. Traders fear that the price would touch Rs 100 in a couple of days. The city is reliant on Bengal, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh for the crop. Low yield in Bengal led to a stop in tomato imports to the city.

Besides, fresh crop from Karnataka reaches the city in a week. Traders said the state capital never depended on locally grown tomato during monsoon.

Price difference

The wholesale price of the fruit is Rs 60 per kilogram but when it reaches the retailers, the price rises by Rs 20 (around 30 per cent). Traders attributed the difference to the crop's perishable nature. They also said the crop couldn't be stored for long.

Improvement likely

Traders said the situation was likely to improve in a week or two. "We have to wait for fresh produce, either from Karnataka or Himachal Pradesh, which may take another one to two weeks," said secretary of the Raw Vegetable Merchants' Association, Kabiraj Swain.

State's role

The state government attributed sale of tomato at throwaway prices in various districts to over production of the crop. But it had failed to set up adequate cold storages to store tomato, which has been witnessing frequent price rise along with onion.

Public opinion

"The crop used to be sold at cheaper rates in the summer, but the state government failed to arrange proper facility to store the crop. If the government had managed to store the crop properly, the price might not have skyrocketed during the rains. Tomato has become a luxury even for the middle class," said Deepak Panigrahi, a sales executive and resident of Bhubaneswar.