May 18: Sunil Sharma of Asan, Kathmandu was shocked to hear the price of tomato when he went to buy vegetables on Monday morning. He said, “I found tomatoes at Rs 140 per kg in a shop. I had to buy it even though it was expensive.”

Consumers are complaining that tomatoes are hard to find in most of the shops now as the price has skyrocketed. A month ago, the price of tomatoes at the Kalimati vegetable market was Rs 20 to Rs 30 per kg. But at present, it is sold at Rs 80 to Rs 95 per kg. This is a four-fold increment in the price of tomatoes within a month. Consumers are suffering due to high prices. The retail prices are even higher than the wholesale price.

Tomato is one of the essential vegetables in Nepali kitchen. Thus, the consumers are put in a troublesome situation whenever its price goes up. The tomatoes which used to be delivered to Kathmandu under normal circumstances are now being consumed in the villages due to the environment created by the local level elections. This has also put pressure on supplies.

Spokesperson of Kalimati Vegetable and Fruit Market Development Committee Binaya Shrestha said that the prices of tomato has skyrocketed because its imports from India were halted due to the local elections. In addition to this, there has been a reduction in supply from local producers.

Shrestha said, during the first nine months of the current fiscal year, 26,802 tons of small-sized tomatoes entered the Kalimati vegetable market. He added that 4,066 tons were imported from India and the rest was domestically produced. Kathmandu is currently receiving large quantities of tomatoes from Dhading, Makwanpur, Kavre and Chitwan. According to him, now is the time for Indian tomatoes to hit the market rather than the Nepali tomatoes.

There is a compulsion to import tomatoes as domestically produced tomatoes fail to meet the market demand. When imported from abroad, the price goes up and down due to various reasons. Shrestha said that the price of tomato will go down again after it starts coming from India.

Tomatoes of larger size are imported from India rather than the small-sized tomatoes. Demand for this specialty is high during this period due its usage as salads in parties of various functions. In 9 months of the current fiscal year, 5,400 tons of large- sized tomatoes entered the Kalimati market from India.