Himachal: Quality of tomatoes affected, trade declines by Rs 8 crore

Himachal Pradesh: Tomato trade has declined by Rs 8 crore this year, as shown by sales of Rs 36 crore at Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) in Solan as against Rs 42 crore last year. Solan meets nearly 60 per cent of the state’s demand for tomato, which is the main cash crop of the district. “Last year, the arrival of the crop in the market was less but its quality was good. This year the situation is reversed as the quantity was better than last year but the quality declined sharply, affecting the average selling price of the crop,” said Bias Dev, an official of Solan APMC. Data shows that 5,99,788 crates of 24 kg each were sold this season and the total quantity of tomatoes was 1,43,949 quintals, while last year the number of crates sold was 2,62,470, containing 62,993 quintals of tomato. Due to the decrease in the quality of the crop, this year a crate got a maximum price of Rs 7,200, while last year it was Rs 12,900 per crate. This year the minimum price was Rs 400 per quintal, which is half of the Rs 800 per quintal received last year. The average price was Rs 2,500 per quintal, while last year it was Rs 6,700 per quintal. Solan tomato is sold in the southern states, apart from this there is also demand for it in Maharashtra, Delhi etc. Officials said that a large number of farmers who suffered crop loss last year have started cultivating French bean, which is considered a long-lasting crop. An APMC official said, ‘This season the crop got spoiled due to bad weather and insufficient rain, which affected its quality. Therefore, the price of the crop remained low in the market.’