Prices of kitchen essentials like tomatoes and ginger have experienced a significant surge in the last fortnight. The tomato crop in northern India has been adversely affected by recent unseasonal rains, leading to a decrease in supply and subsequently driving up prices. At the same time, ginger farmers have chosen to withhold their crop, strategically allowing prices to rise in order to recover from the losses they faced in the previous year.
Meanwhile, the price of melon seeds (char magaz) has increased threefold as the armed conflict in Sudan, from where it is imported, has brought down the supply. “The price of a kg of char magaz is now ruling at INR 900, which was only INR 300 before the Sudan conflict,” said Sanjay Sharma, a trader in Delhi.
Tomato prices in the retail market have increased to around INR 80 per kg from INR 40 a fortnight ago. “Tomato supply to the Azadpur mandi (in Delhi) has dwindled as rains have damaged the crop. Prices will remain firm for some time now, till the new crop comes,” said Ashok Kaushik, president of the Tomato Traders Association at Azadpur market. There is a huge demand for tomatoes from southern India, which too is pushing up prices, Kaushik said. “Tomatoes are now coming from some parts of Haryana and UP. Prices are likely to remain firm for at least two months,” he added.
Ginger prices, which were at INR 30 per 100 gms, have shot up to INR 40. Shriram Gadhave, president of the All India Vegetable Growers Association, said, “Last year, the farmers suffered due to a lower price. This time they are offloading the crop carefully. Now that the prices have gone up, they will start offloading their crop in the market.”
India’s yearly ginger production amounts to approximately 2.12 million metric tonnes.