The Bangladesh crisis is making tomato farmers in Kolar see red. Kolar, situated 90 km away from Bengaluru, is known as the second-largest tomato market in Asia and supplies this essential Indian food ingredient to Bangladesh, Indonesia, and various Indian markets.
Bangladesh is seeing unrest over the jobs quota, which led to the resignation and fleeing of former PM Sheikh Hasina. While an interim government is in place, the violence continues.
Tomato traders in Kolar tell News18 that the prices of export-quality, first-grade tomatoes have plummeted by nearly 60 per cent. A box of these tomatoes, weighing between 15 and 20 kg, typically sells for Rs 1,100 to 1,200. Now, they are being sold in local markets along the route to Bangladesh for Rs 450 to 500 per box.
FARMERS WORRIED
“Around 40 truckloads of tomatoes, each carrying about 900 boxes, are sent daily from Kolar to Bangladesh. This number dropped to 20 trucks when political tensions began, and for the past week, all shipments have been halted. We are now forced to sell the tomatoes in markets along the way. It’s a matter of our livelihood,” said Saddam Hussein, a farmer from Kolar.
Sheikh Saleem, another farmer and trader who exports to Bangladesh, explains that these export-quality tomatoes, which usually fetch around Rs 35 per kg in international markets, are now being sold for just Rs 8 to 10 per kg in markets such as Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal along the route to Bangladesh.
“Even West Bengal traders have reduced their purchase of Kolar tomatoes by nearly 45 per cent, leading to further losses. When we sell high-grade tomatoes locally, consumers are unwilling to pay the proper price,” he adds.
Farmers say that cultivating tomatoes on an acre of land requires an investment of Rs 1-2 lakh. If the crop is good, they can expect a yield of approximately 250 boxes per acre. However, when tomato prices drop to Rs 200 per box (around Rs 13 per kg) due to an oversupply — because they cannot access markets like Bangladesh — the prices drop further.
The produce, which breached Rs 100 per kilogram in Indian markets a month ago due to crop damage, is now seeing prices balance out. However, with the Bangladesh crisis, tomato prices have not only crashed but have also led to massive losses for the farmers.
WHITEFLY ATTACK
The tomato produce in Kolar, which is the second-largest market in Asia after Nashik in Maharashtra, recently faced attacks from the deadly whitefly, which transmits the leaf curl disease, causing widespread damage to the tomato cultivation in the region. This had affected the supply of tomatoes usually transported to markets in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.
“The medium-sized tomatoes sold in markets like Chhattisgarh, Bilaspur, and Raipur range between Rs 900 and Rs 1,500 per crate. The ones sent to other countries are juicier, and fetch a good price as consumption is very high. Now, we have no option but to dump these in local markets at Rs 500 per crate. How will we survive if this continues,” questions Ravi Gowda, another farmer from the region.
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