Tomato prices crash to ₹1/kg in Madanapalle, leaving farmers in distress

Hyderabad: Tomato prices crash in Madanapalle, plunging to as low as ₹1 per kg, pushing cultivators into a financial crisis. Farmers who toiled for months to grow the crop are now unable to recover even their input costs.

Just three months ago, tomatoes sold for ₹60 per kg. Today, there are no buyers even at a rupee. The absence of a minimum support price has worsened losses, with many farmers abandoning their harvests in fields.

At the Madanapalle market, tomato prices have collapsed over the past fortnight. Premium-grade tomatoes, once fetching ₹15 per kg, now go for ₹7. Third-grade produce commands less than ₹1, making transport unaffordable.

Farmers facing third consecutive year of losses

Tomato farmers in the region have been incurring losses for three straight years, hoping each season for a price recovery. Around 1,400 hectares are under tomato cultivation in the Madanapalle division.

This market exports 300–600 tonnes of tomatoes daily to cities like Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Punjab, and Maharashtra.

Supply glut from neighbouring states hits demand

Prices have nosedived due to a surplus in neighbouring states. Heavy tomato cultivation in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu has diverted buyers away from Andhra Pradesh. Traders in Anantapur and Kurnool are also not sourcing from Madanapalle due to local oversupply.

As a result, farmers bringing produce to the Madanapalle market are unable to cover even basic transport and return costs. Many are left confused and helpless, unsure of what to do with their unsold crop.

With further decline in prices expected, farmers fear deeper losses in the coming days.