22 Oct

Tomato Prices

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Content

• Introduction
• About Tomato production in India
• Why increase in Prices?

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Introduction

Among the vegetables consumed in India, Tomato ranks 3 after potato and Onion, but globally it is the 2nd most consumed vegetable after Potato.

• Note: Botanically, tomatoes fit the definition of fruit as they form from a flower and
  contain seeds.

In terms of area under tomato cultivation and in terms of total production, India ranks 2nd in the world.

• The major tomato producing countries in the world are China, India, USA, Turkey and
  Egypt.

About Tomato production in India

• India’s total tomato production is around 20 million tonnes. It peaked in 2019-20 at 21.187 million tonnes and has been declining since. The production in 2021-22 dropped to 20.69 MT and 20.62 MT in 2022-23.
• It is typically a 90-100 day crop that starts yielding fruits 60-70 days after transplantation.
  • The seeds are first sown in nursery beds to raise seedlings that are transplanted in fields after around 25 days.
  • Production happen in flushes.

There are two major crops of tomato annually – Kharif and Rabi.

• There are two main crops of tomato grown in the country.
  • The first one transplanted from around mid-June in Central and South India (places such as Shivpuri, Sagar in MP, Nasik In MHA, Madanapalle in AP, Kolar and Mysore in Karnataka and Dindigul in TN) and mid-July to Aug in North India (Jhalawar and Jaipur-chomu belt in Rajasthan; Sonabhadra, Varanasi, Lucknow, Bareilly and Agra in Uttar Pradesh) and stretching to end of Sep in Eastern India (Purulia in West Bengal, Buxar in Bihar and Ranchi in Jharkhand)
  • The autumn to late kharif crop supplies the market from Sep onwards. This along with a smaller rabi crop transplanted during October-November, contributes to the familiar low tomato prices through the winter.
• The second main crop is transplanted during January-February. This is a longer duration crop typically taking 130-150 days, yielding an average of 25 tonnes per acres.
  • This is the summer tomato as it is harvested during May-July is grown mostly in regions where maximum temperature don’t go beyond the mid-to-late thirties range during the flowering and fruiting season.
    • Such conditions are mostly found in relatively cool or hilly areas such as Madanapalle, Mysore, Kolar in Karnatka; Sangamner and Narayangaon in Maharashtra, or Solan and Mandi in Himachal Pradesh.

Why increase in Prices:

• Dip in overall tomato production due to:
  i. Lower acreage of tomato
  ii. Extreme Weather Conditions
  •  Heatwaves and High temperatures in April and May along with delayed Monsoon showers in southern India and Maharashtra led to attack on tomato
    crops.
    • Farmers in Maharashtra have said their tomato crop was impacted by
      attacks of the Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV) and growers in Karnataka
      ad other South Indian States have blamed the Tomato Mosaic virus
      (ToMV) for crop loss.

ii. Later, incessant rains in tomato-growing regions further affected the new crop
and also made transportation to non-growing regions difficult.

iii. Low commercial realization of the crop for farmers in the months of June as well as the last year.
iv. Seasonal Fluctuation: July and August are the lean tomato production.

Other general challenges:

• Perishability of tomato is much higher than Onion and Potato.
• Supply chain issues in transporting the vegetable from areas where it is grown to regions where it is not compounds the problem.

Way Forward for dealing with Price Fluctuations in Tomato:

Improved Supply Chain – to deal with wastage due to perishability

• Analyze why initiatives like TOP scheme and Operation Greens has failed and what
  lessons can be learned from the scheme.
• Government should identify pre-existing clusters and invest in infrastructure in these
  areas. This infrastructure could include cold storages at the block or village levels,
  supported by solar dryers and cottage level processing plants.
• Similarly, improvement of connectivity in hilly areas such as Himachal Pradesh,
  Uttarakhand, Kashmir, and parts of north-east will be very crucial. These reasons
  facilitate major off-season production.
• Special MSP for TOP Crops – supported by government led production – This will ensure stability in acreage.
• Improved food processing – Linking tomato value chain to processing of at least 10% of tomato production into tomato paste and puree during peak seasons, and using them in lean season (July-Aug), when tomato prices are high.

Reforming Marketing:

• Eliminating middleman and encouraging FPOs to sell produce directly
• Amending APMC laws to reduce cartelization, commission and other fees.

Increasing Yield:

• Tomato yield in India at 25 tonnes per hectare (25t/ha) is very low than the global
  average of 37t/ha.
  • ICRIER suggests encouraging cultivation in structures called poly houses and
    greenhouses (as done in many European countries), which can control pest
    attacks.
• Accurate weather forecasts should be made accessible to farmers. If there are sufficient
  advanced predictions of heavy rain or floods, farmers can prematurely harvest and save at least a part of their crop that can come into the market.
• Satellite mapping of sowing area and dissemination of this data for better supply side planning – Both over-production and under-production creates multiple wastages and should be avoided.

Example Question:

• Discuss the key factors responsible for annual increase in prices of Tomato in India. How can sustainable production and technological interventions be leveraged to enhance tomato production while addressing the concerns or both farmers and consumers? [15 marks, 250 words].