Tomato supplies from Badin to markets pick momentum, cool down prices

BADIN: The farms of Pakistan’s tomato capital Badin have resumed supplies to the markets across the country, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

The fresh crop of tomatoes has ripe for supply in Lower Sindh’s coastal district and the market rates of the vegetable go down upto Rs. 50 per kilogram after resumption of supplies from Badin.

According to local sources, hundreds of trucks are leaving Badin daily carrying tomatoes to the markets across the country.

The price of tomatoes in Karachi and other parts of the country hit the highest-ever mark of upto 400 per kilogram as the authorities failed to stabilize the prices of the vegetable due to diminishing supplies.

The price hike was attributed to a cessation in the supply of imported tomatoes until the local crop ripe to meet the market needs.

The price of tomatoes come down to an extent after the government issued permits to bring in 15500 tonnes of Iranian tomato to Pakistan.

A cash crop, tomatoes provide high yields and ready for harvest in a relatively short time. But most growers prefer not to cultivate the crop more than once a year.

They can be sown twice a year in July-August with harvest in November-December, and in January-February with harvest in March-April. But growers avoid the crop the second time around as they don’t expect good market rates due to extensive tomato crop cultivation in different parts of Pakistan.

According to a 2017 report the country’s annual production was 543,160 tonnes of which Sindh, the biggest contributor, grows 35 per cent of the yield. Balochistan produces 27pc of the crop, Punjab 19pc and KP contributes 16pc of the vegetable production.