With tomato prices increasing by the day, Navi Mumbaikars have switched to using tomato sauce and puree while cooking. They claim using sauces and purees in vegetables is cheaper than using tomatoes.

“I am personally fond of tomatoes and make it a point to add it to almost all vegetables I prepare at home. But since past couple of days, thanks to the increasing prices, I am finding it tough to purchase them. Although these alternatives do not give out the exact flavour, we are left with no option but to use them,” Vashi resident Preeti Gore said, adding that while her husband and kids complain about the missing tomatoes, they are compromising.

Gore said that a one kg bottle of tomato sauce is available for less than Rs100, while a kg of tomatoes is being sold at more than Rs60, Not only homemakers, but hoteliers too are feeling the pinch of increased rates. They have also started adding sauces and purees in their dishes like pav bhaji.

Tomatoes have become dearer by around Rs10-12 within a week. Traders are citing shortage of supply as the main reason behind such a steep hike in rates

“We are receiving very limited crop from major tomato-producing districts of the state such as Nashik, Sangli, Satara, Solapur, besides Sangamner. Normally, we get tomatoes from the neighbouring state of Gujarat during this time of the year, but this year the arrival of stock from there might be delayed as the state (Gujarat) experienced unseasonal rainfall recently which damaged the crop. Due to this, the arrival of the stock has been less and we are experiencing shortage of the produce which resulted in the increase of rates,” deputy secretary of APMC, Avinash Patil said.

He added that instead of getting the crop from Gujarat, the state is supplying tomato stock to that state, which also affected the supply in the APMC market.

“As on November 7, the best quality of tomatoes (No 1) is being sold between Rs340-400 per 10 kg while the other quality of the crop (No 2) is fetching a rate of Rs180-200 per 10 kg in the wholesale market,” Patil said and added that in the retail market, the tomatoes are being sold for not less than Rs60 per kg thereby pinching the pockets of common man.

Potatoes get costlier, albeit marginallyNot only tomatoes, but the rates of potatoes have also increased in the wholesale market. According to APMC director Ashok Walunj, potatoes are currently being sold for no less than Rs20 per kg in the wholesale market; a fortnight ago it was being sold between Rs15-17 per kg. “The reason behind this marginal hike is because we are not getting enough supply from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, to name a few. Normally, we receive around 80 trucks of potatoes in the market, but since the last 15 days, the number of trucks have reduced to 70 , resulting in shortage of the vegetable,” Walunj said.

When asked as to when the rates of onions will reduce, he said the current rate of onion is Rs40-50 per kg in the wholesale market and it will reduce within next eight days, bringing a relief to the people who are reeling under steep hike of the rates of vegetables since the past one month.