How would I like to get Tomatoes as a gift???

For the past few days, the newspaper has been carrying multiple stories about tomatoes and the rising prices.  While most are serious and sound scary, I came across a few funny ones too ….a lady gifting tomatoes for her husband’s birthday or another lady bringing 10kgs of tomatoes as a gift from Dubai, for her mom in India. Jokes apart, what I understand is that tomatoes are costing Rs130+ per Kg as opposed to Rs 50, 2 months back, trending upwards if left alone to the market dynamics.  This is a serious price rise!

One of the news that’s making rounds is that tomatoes are being hoarded causing an artificial price rise. Yes at the outset, of course hoarding is bad…it artificially increases the price of an essential food item that is  already reeling under inflation. But I ask, why will people hoard a perishable commodity? How long does it take for tomatoes to rot even in appropriate storage conditions and temperatures? Will the market not drop prices once the hoarded tomatoes, close to their expiry, are released? Is there a mathematical tool used to manipulate the market by a small section of suppliers at the cost of consumers? 

Let us think about an opposite situation when there is an oversupply, pulling the price down.  The poor farmers do not get their efforts worth.  I also came across an old news story where the farmers destroyed the crop, just to arrest the price fall.  Isn’t that sad?  Inventorising or stocking-up those tomatoes, in appropriate condition to extend their shelf life, would have been a much better option. Isn’t it?

I think ‘hoarding’ is the negative word for ‘stocking-up’.  If tomatoes are stocked up for arresting the price fall without creating an artificial shortage, then it’s not seen negatively.  However, if they are stocked-up to artificially create a shortage and thereby increase the price, it’s called ‘hoarding.’  And hoarding is typically done by middlemen or a few rich farmers and it’s not beneficial to the society at large. Even though both involve an act of stocking or inventorising, the character changes based on the situation of the act and the purpose behind the act. That’s where the Governments, being the representative of the society at large, have an important role to play. 

Times of India reported on 17 July 2023 that the average landing cost of tomato in a place like Delhi is Rs 121-122 and the Central Government is using their Price stabilisation Fund to bring it down to Rs 80 a kilo. Similar actions are being taken in other places including deployment of mobile vans making tomatoes available at discounted prices. Tomatoes are also being procured urgently from the mandis in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharsatra to keep the supply lines alive till new crops arrive. Is it a hoarding game that is in play or is it because of disruption in the supply chain due to heavy monsoons that parts of our country experienced? The Government explains it is the latter. Then I question …Why could it not be anticipated in this technologically advanced age where Artificial Intelligence could have given the early signals? OR  was it red tapism that delayed the action or was it purposely allowed for a few to benefit at the cost of the society at large? 

And let me make it categorically clear ….no.. I do not want tomatoes for my birthday :))