Tomato quality hit, trade declines by Rs 8 cr

Tomato trade has declined by Rs 8 crore this year, as depicted by its sale of Rs 36 crore as compared to Rs 42 crore last year at the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) in Solan.

Solan fulfils around 60 per cent of the state’s demand for tomato, which is the main cash crop of the district. “While the crop arrival in the market was less last year, its quality was high. This year, the situation has reversed, as the quantity was better than last year but the quality declined sharply, hitting the average selling price of the crop,” said Bias Dev, an official of the Solan APMC.

Figures reflect that 5,99,788 crates of 24 kg each were sold this season and the total quantity of tomato was 1,43,949 quintals, while last year, the number of crates sold was as high as 2,62,470 containing 62,993 quintals.

With the crop lacking in quality, a crate received the maximum rate of Rs 7,200 this year as compared to Rs 12,900 per crate received last year. This year, the minimum rate was Rs 400 per quintal, which was half of Rs 800 per quintal received last year. The average price hovered around Rs 2,500 per quintal as against Rs 6,700 registered last year.

Tomato from Solan is sold in southern states, besides being in demand in Maharashtra, Delhi, etc.

Officials said that a large number of farmers, who had suffered crop loss last year, had taken to French bean cultivation, which is considered a hardy crop with a longer shelf life. “Inclement weather lacking adequate rain led to crop spoilage this season, affecting its quality. Therefore, the crop attracted a lower price in the market,” said an APMC official.

Prolonged dry spell

The tomato arrival began on June 15 and the season is now on the decline

Being a perishable commodity, farmers have to harvest the crop at the right time to avoid post-harvest losses

The prolonged dry spell has left cultivated fields parched

The high evaporation rate and a wide gap between day and night temperatures has created water stress conditions in the state where vegetable crops are deprived of adequate soil moisture