The Price Forecasting Scheme of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has advised farmers to take appropriate decision on sowing tomato as the price of good quality of the vegetable during harvest month of August would be around Rs. 35 per kilo.

With prices of tomatoes touching all time high and nosediving in the last two weeks, the scheme analyzed the price of the vegetable that prevailed in Ottanchathram and Coimbatore Uzhavar Sandhais during the last 12 years, to help farmers take a decision on sowing.

Though the area under tomato cultivation remained normal in most the tomato growing states of India such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Odhisha, Punjab and Tamil Nadu, a sharp decline was witnessed in Karnataka that is the major producer of the vegetable in the country, it said.

During this year, the prolonged summer with heat stress, unseasonal rainfall in southern India and poor germination of seeds in certain states made steep increase in the prices and only those farmers who brought good quality tomato, realized a farm gate price of Rs. 40-50 per kilo and for the remaining marketable surplus, they realized very nominal prices.

The price is manifold in the wholesale and retail markets. However, it is a short run phenomenon. Under normal situation the percentage of good quality harvested tomato wold be much higher than what the farmer harvested during the current season, the analysis said.

Under these circumstances, the prices of tomato will neither benefit the producers nor the customers, it added.
During 2015-16, the tomato production in the State is expected to be 3.05 lakh tonnes in 0.24 lakh hectares as against 3.28 lakh tonnes in 0.25 hectare last year, the analysis said.