Chennai, July 13(BPNS)
Alarmed by fluctuating prices of vegetables like tomatoes in the state, the Tamil Nadu agriculture department is planning a special drive to increase vegetable production. The department will commence production from January so that the fluctuation in prices of tomatoes this year could be contained.
A senior official of the Tamil Nadu agriculture department told BPNS that the aim was to prevent uncertainty in the price of vegetables including tomatoes during this year.
It may be noted that tomato prices in Tamil Nadu have went up by in a high manner in a year and topped the list of essential commodities. The average price of tomato in the retail market during June 2022 was Rs 25.85 kg. However, in July 2023, tomato was sold at Rs 103.5. This shows that the price of tomatoes went up by 27% from June 2022 to July 2023.
As per the season and crop report of the Tamil Nadu government cultivation of tomatoes in 2020-21 was in 44918 hectares while in 2021-22 it was in 41455 hectares. This has a direct bearing on the production of tomatoes which declined from 9.35 lakh tonnes to 8.15 lakh tonnes.
While the state government has commenced selling essential commodities including tomatoes through fair price shops and ‘Uzhavur Sandhai’ or farm fresh outlets to contain the price rise of tomatoes and other vegetables.
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