If you can afford tomatoes right now, you are rich. That’s the running joke on Indian Twitter and family WhatsApp groups as prices of this staple in Indian cooking have tripled in recent weeks beyond Rs 150, or roughly $2, for a kilogram in parts of India, forcing many households to cut back.
This year extreme weather has disrupted every stage of the country’s tomato crop from production to distribution, sending prices spiraling out of control, experts say. Agriculture in general is affected by such weather fluctuations, and prices of other vegetables have surged, too.
The high prices are the result of a double whammy: Record-breaking temperatures caused heatwaves in May and June, followed by heavy monsoon rainfall in several tomato-growing states. And last year tomato prices crashed due to excess supply, leaving farmers with losses — which is one reason why many did not sow the crop this year, further reducing supply.
About the author
Disha Shetty
Disha Shetty is an independent science journalist based in Pune, India, who writes about public health, environment, and gender. She is the winner of the International Center for Journalists’ 2018 Global Health Reporting Contest Award. Disha has a Masters in Science, Environment, and Medicine Journalism from Columbia University.
