‘Tomato prices to come down soon’

Due to unfavorable weather conditions, tomato production had been affected

LAHORE: Tomato prices will come down after October 15 as the crops in Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa and Sindh are almost ready and will arrive in the wholesale markets, said an agriculture department spokesman.

The wholesale prices of almost all essentials agricultural commodities except tomato and onion have decreased significantly as compared to last year, he said. Due to unfavorable weather conditions, tomato production was affected to some extent, he said. On the other hand, the tomato crop of Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa was also delayed due to various weather conditions. Therefore, the supply of tomato was affected and prices surged in the local market.



Last year, the agriculture department decided that during the current year, Pakistan would not import tomato from India due to sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) issues and the huge import bill. During 2015-16, Pakistan imported 233,246 tonnes of tomato worth Rs7.916 billion.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 7^th, 2017.