Like the fuel rates, the rate of Tomato is not in reach of the common man here in the Telugu states. Like onions, Tomato is also a regular vegetable being used by the common man.
But now it is not under the reach of a common man. A Kg of Tomatoes are costing Rs 105. The other vegetables are also coting very high these days.
Heavy rains which pounded some parts of Andhra Pradesh have washed away the Vegetable fields and that has in fact raised the demand for Vegetables.
Middle-class people are finding it difficult to buy vegetables in the retail markets. People who cannot afford vegetables are just buying the eggs as they are very cheap when compared to Tomatoes these days.
There were days when people threw baskets of Tomatoes on roads as they could not get even 10 paise per Kg. Even now the markets do not have cold storage facilities to store the excess crop.
When there is a bumper crop, the farmers have nothing to do but, just throw away the crop.
