Bhubaneswar: Tomato prices have skyrocketed across markets in Odisha during the last 24 hours with the vegetable costing as high as Rs 100 per kg.

While its price was around Rs 40-50 per kg yesterday, it registered an exponential spike as tomatoes were being sold at Rs 90-100 per kg at Cuttack's Chhatra Bazaar, this morning.

Price of the vegetable has reached Rs 100-120 per kg in Berhampur and Balasore while the same at Unit-I market of Bhubaneswar stood at around Rs 80 per kg. However, it touched Rs 100 at other markets in the capital city.

Consumers are bearing the brunt as they were seen buying tomatoes in much lesser quantity as compared to other days.

Reason of the rise in Tomato price

According to Debendra Sahu, Secretary of the Chhatra Bazaar Traders' Association, the increase in price of tomatoes can be attributed to various factors affecting their production in Karnataka. The primary reason behind this price hike is the adverse impact of rainfall, leading to a significant decrease in tomato yields. As a result, the entire country is heavily reliant on Karnataka as the sole source of tomatoes. Consequently, the demand for tomatoes has exceeded the available supply. This situation is expected to persist for approximately 15 more days until the arrival of the second harvest.