Tomato growers fear the crisis in Bangladesh will affect their business. (document)
“About 40 truckloads of tomatoes, each carrying about 900 boxes, are shipped from Kolar to Bangladesh every day. When political tensions began, this number dropped to 20 trucks and over the past week, all transportation has been stopped. We are now forced to sell tomatoes in markets along the route,” said Saddam Hussein, a farmer in Kolar.
Bangladesh crisis has left tomato growers in Kolar angry. Kolar, 90 kilometers from Bangalore, is known as Asia's second largest tomato market, supplying this important Indian food ingredient to Bangladesh, Indonesia and various Indian markets.
Riots in Bangladesh over job quotas led to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation and flight. Although an interim government is in place, violence continues.
Tomato traders in Kolar told News18 that the price of export-quality first-grade tomatoes has plummeted by almost 60%. A box of these tomatoes weighs between 15 and 20 kg and is usually sold for Rs 1,100 to 1,200. They are now sold in local markets along the route to Bangladesh for Rs 450 to Rs 500 per box.
farmers worried
“About 40 trucks of tomatoes, with about 900 boxes per truck, are shipped from Kolar to Bangladesh every day. When political tensions started, this number dropped to 20 trucks, and in the past week, all transportation has been stopped. We are now Being forced to sell tomatoes in markets along the way is a matter of livelihood for us,” said Saddam Hussain, a farmer from Kolar.
Sheikh Saleem, another farmer and trader exporting to Bangladesh, explained that these export-quality tomatoes are usually sold at around Rs 35 per kg in the international market, but now in Andhra The price is only Rs 8-10 per kg in markets such as Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal along the way to Bengal.
“Even traders in West Bengal have reduced procurement of Kolar tomatoes by nearly 45 per cent, leading to further losses. When we sell high-end tomatoes locally, consumers are not willing to pay appropriate prices,” he added.
Farmers say that one acre of land requires an investment of Rs 10,000-200,000 to grow tomatoes. If the harvest is good, expect a yield of about 250 boxes per acre. However, when tomato prices fell to Rs 200 per box (approximately Rs 13 per kg) due to oversupply (because they were unable to enter markets such as Bangladesh), prices fell further.
A month ago, prices of these products crossed Rs 100 per kg in the Indian market due to crop damage, but now prices have leveled off. However, with the crisis in Bangladesh, tomato prices not only plummeted, but also caused huge losses to farmers.
whitefly attack
Tomato production in Kolar, Asia's second-largest market after Nashik in Maharashtra, has recently faced an attack by the deadly whitefly that spreads leaf curl disease, causing havoc on tomato cultivation in the region. Extensive damage. This has affected the supply of tomatoes normally destined for markets in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
“Medium-sized tomatoes sold in markets like Chhattisgarh, Bilaspur and Raipur cost between Rs 900 and Rs 1,500 per carton. The meat destined for other countries is plumper and juicier, and due to high consumption High and the prices are high. Now we have no choice but to dump them into the local market at Rs 500 per box. How will we survive if this continues.
