Tomato farmers are in trouble as especially the traders who are outside Gujarat are not ready to pay even Rs. 1 per kg for Tomatoes. As the traders don’t want to buy the vegetable, so the tomato exports to Pakistan have been put to a stop. Because of this, the exporters who come every season in large numbers to buy the tomato have not shown up.
Some loads have taken up by few exporters only. The bulk of tomatoes were bought by the traders of Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana. Before this stress on the border started every day two loads of tomato were being sent to Punjab, Delhi, and Pakistan but now only one truckload is sent in two days to Punjab and Haryana.
The wholesale prices for tomatoes in Rs.2- Rs. 5 per kg range have been set by The Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) of Ahmedabad. But even for Rs. 1 per kg, the farmers are not able to sell. Between Rs. 10- Rs. 20 per kg, the retails prices are still lies.
By taking up their produce at Rs 4 per kg, the farmers are demanding that the government should help them so that they do not face losses if not profit. The tension at the border has cut down the tomato selling and the farm owners and investors wish that the scenario enhances and some selling happens to let the money come in. The farmers are in a bad state, even with a good crop this year as they are not able to sell and are being forced to replace their crop with Bajra and others.
