WATCH | Farmers In Maharashtra's Nashik Dump Crates Of Tomatoes On Road As Prices Crash To Rs 3 Per Kg

The daily arrival of tomatoes in the ‘mandis’ in Nashik during August last year was around 50,000 crates a day, but this year it has increased to around 2.75 lakh crates a day

Photo Courtesy: ANI

Nashik: Farmers in the northern district of Maharashtra in Nashik are distressed owing to tomatoes prices crashing to Rs 2-3 per kg in the wholesale market. In a viral video farmers in Nashik, which is known for onions production and also tomato cultivation, can be seen dumping crates of tomatoes on the road.

Just like the popular Lasalgaon onion market, the Pimpalgaon Baswant market in Nashik is counted among the biggest tomato trading zones in the country. It supplies tomatoes to other cities including Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Haryana.

Watch the video below

Around 10 lakh farmers cultivate tomatoes in Nashik district which comprises almost 20 per cent of the country’s production, as per the Times of India report. Troubled over the prices crashing, tomato growers ended up dumping their produce on roads near ‘mandis’.

According to the report, farmers dumped their produce to attract the attention of the state government. The farmers are demanding a fair price in the wholesale market.  According to Nashik APMC officials, wholesale prices have crashed due to significant rise in the supply as compared with sluggish demand both within Maharashtra and elsewhere in the country.

The tomato season in the district begins in August and the arrivals at the ‘mandis’ start picking up in September. Nashik APMC secretary Arun Kale told the publication that supply of tomatoes at the market has doubled from 20,000 crates (20 kg a crate) to 47,000 crates a day. However, the demand is low.

The daily arrival of tomatoes in the ‘mandis’ in Nashik during August last year was around 50,000 crates a day, but this year, it has increased to around 2.75 lakh crates a day, as per the report.

Meanwhile, former minister of state for agriculture and MLC Sadabhau Khot demanded that a subsidy of Rs 10 per kg for the tomato growers from the state government.