Amid the spotlight on soaring tomato prices caused by supply shortages, government data reveals that the prices of all food items, except potatoes, have also experienced significant spikes.
This week, the food and consumer affairs ministry informed the Parliament that over the past year, tur dal prices witnessed a substantial increase of 28%, with rice following closely at 10.5%. Additionally, urad dal and atta also experienced an 8% rise each in their prices. As of Thursday, the average retail price of rice stood at INR 41 per kg, compared to INR 37 a year ago.
The ministry has linked the increase in tur dal prices to a decline in domestic production. According to the third advance estimate of the agriculture ministry for the 2022-23 crop year, tur dal production is projected to be 34.3 lakh tonnes, significantly lower than the 42.2 lakh tonnes recorded during the previous crop year.
Earlier, Kaushik, a member of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), informed PTI that vegetable wholesalers are grappling with losses due to a substantial decline in the sales of tomatoes, capsicum, and other seasonal vegetables.
As reported by the price monitoring cell of the consumer affairs ministry, the average retail price of tur dal on Thursday stood at INR 136 per kg, a notable rise from INR 106.5 per kg observed last year. Similarly, the price of urad dal has also seen an increase to INR 114 per kilo from last year’s INR 106.5.
As per the ministry’s statement, the all-India average retail price of potatoes is approximately 12% lower than the previous year, while the price of onions has seen an increase of about 5% compared to a year ago.
On tomato prices, the ministry said, “The prices of tomato has increased in recent weeks on account of a combination of factors like crop seasonality, white fly disease in Kolar, instantaneous arrival of monsoon rains in northern part of the country which adversely affected tomato crops in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and logistics disruptions in isolated areas due to heavy rains.”
According to government data, the average price of tomatoes on Thursday reached INR 140 per kilo, marking a significant increase from INR 34 per kilo last year. Among different regions, Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest tomato price at INR 257 per kg, while it was being sold at INR 213 per kilo in Delhi and INR 157 per kilo in Mumbai.