Maravi

(DAILY MAIL ZM) Tomato price skyrockets 100%

Tomato price skyrockets 100%
September 4, 2012 | Filed under: Business | Posted by: web editor
By NANCY MWAPE

THE price of tomatoes at Soweto City Market over the weekend went up by 100 percent from as low as K20, 000 per box to K50, 000. Ruth Phiri, a trader at Soweto City market, revealed that most traders had been forced to increase tomato prices.

According to a survey conducted by the Zambia Daily Mail at Lusaka’s major market for fresh vegetables and fruits yesterday, tomato prices range from K1, 000 to K2, 500 for a heap of four.

Mrs Phiri said major tomato suppliers at Soweto market are mostly farmers from Mumbwa and Mkushi districts but pointed that over the weekend, the Mumbwa farmers were the only suppliers.

Another trader, Gertrude Bwalya, said the price of tomatoes had only been increased this weekend and further expects the commodity to fetch as high as K150, 000 per box during the rainy season.

Mrs Bwalya said commodities that are costly at present include tomatoes, impwa and okra.

“My sister, are you a farmer or you want to start selling fresh vegetables? okra and impwa are fetching K150, 000 for a bag of 50 kg. If you are a farmer, you will make a fortune from impwa and okra,” she said.

She said last month, a lot of farmers were desperate to sell their tomatoes at very low prices for fear of the commodity going to waste.

According to Zambia National Farmers Union report, the worst tomato prices for farmers were again experienced in April 2007 and March 2008 when the commodity tumbled down to as low as K700 per kilogramme, which was attributed to supply outstripping demand.

The ZNFU report however notes that the prices for tomatoes have been fluctuating depending on seasons with most players coming on the market when the conditions are dry and hence flooding the market.

ZNFU says commercial farmers, especially those from Mkushi, have been producing tomatoes during the rainy season when most farmers shun planting the crop due to huge management overheads.

The report adds that the price of tomatoes this year reached its lowest levels in five years at the back of increased farm productivity of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Between January and February this year, the box of tomato was fetching around K75, 000 or K3, 750 per kilogramme.

Labels: AGRICULTURE, INFLATION

posted by MrK @ 3:46 PM