Tomatoes Plunge to ₹5/kg: Market Glut Causes Price Crash
Jhapa, April 3 -– In Mechinagar Municipality, Dipesh Dangal cultivates approximately 300 crates (each weighing 25 kilograms) of tomatoes every week on one and a half bighas of land. He carries out this process two times per week.
Since the 1990s, he has been involved in farming, earning recognition from his neighbors and peers for his success as a cultivator. However, behind this achievement lie various undisclosed narratives. When factoring in expenses such as labor and transport, his profit amounts to just Rs5 per kilogram of tomatoes after covering all costs.
What’s the point of cultivating tomatoes? They have no market demand and hold little worth,” stated Dangal. “I doubt I’ll recoup my costs this time around.
To finance the labor for harvesting and moving tomatoes, he takes out a loan. Hoping to solidify his position in farming, he secured a bank loan to initiate his tomato cultivation venture.
Growing tomatoes on one-and-a-half acres set him back approximately Rs 600,000. Nevertheless, after starting production, he couldn’t sell the tomatoes. The bank from which he borrowed the funds is now urging him for repayment.
“He continually gets reminders from the bank about the loan, and he worries that his property could be sold at an auction,” he said additionally.
The collected tomatoes should be transported either to the agricultural market in Charali or Birtamod. Transporting them incurs a fee of Rs50 per crate. Furthermore, unloading fees amount to Rs10 per crate, and the market takes a 10% commission from all sales. Separately, labor costs for picking the tomatoes come into play; approximately 20 workers are required weekly, with each worker earning Rs500 daily.
Even with such high expenses, tomatoes are priced at merely Rs 200-250 per crate.
He asked how we can repay our loans and wages for the workers when we only receive Rs5 per kilogram at the wholesale market after covering all expenses.
Although tomatoes are sold for Rs 25 per kg in retail markets, farmers receive only Rs 10 per kg.
The issue at hand is not exclusive to Dangal. Many tomato growers in Mechinagar, Buddhashanti, and surrounding regions face similar challenges. Particularly in northern Mechinagar, numerous farmers have ventured into large-scale tomato cultivation.
Bimala Bhujel has formally registered the Pathibhara Agricultural and Vegetable Farm and planted tomatoes across two bighas, with an investment of approximately Rs 800,000.
Bhujel mentioned that they needed to apply pesticides, employ laborers to stake the plants, and purchase fertilizers and seeds. However, when their harvest fails to find buyers, they are pushed away from farming.
While visiting the field, four women were observed harvesting tomatoes, with others carrying them away. Meanwhile, some laborers were securing fallen plants to stakes for additional support.
The plants sag due to the burden of abundant fruits. While this yield is impressive, contemplating the marketplace fills me with dread,” Bhujel remarked. “It would be immensely comforting if the government could secure a market for us.
She thinks that the surge in imported Indian tomatoes hinders the sale of locally grown produce. She argues that restricting these imports would significantly help the farmers.
“Our investments are already gone. We may now be forced to sell our land to settle these debts,” she sighed. In the north of Mechinagar, specifically in the Bahundangi region, farmers grapple with aggressive elephant invasions. These farmers continually battle to safeguard their harvests.
“We fret over elephants consuming our crops. Despite surmounting many obstacles to cultivate tomatoes, we discover no buyers. Will anyone heed the farmers’ concerns?” Bhujel asked.
In this area, farmers additionally cultivate betel nut trees around the perimeters of their tomato fields, beautifying the scenery.
Purna Bahadur Khadka from Boudha Mode, Mechinagar, invested Rs400,000 in growing tomatoes on an area of one bigha. With over two decades of experience in commercial farming starting from 2000, he is currently contemplating shifting away from agriculture as a profession.
Today, if you mention wanting to travel overseas, people are willing to lend you funds. However, if you express interest in farming, they decline. Society has lost all hope for the agricultural sector,” he sighed while harvesting tomatoes.
After putting in so much effort, there seems to be no market. Who has control over this market?” As he explains, once all costs are accounted for, farmers make only about Rs 5 per kilogram.
“Disregard the expenditure on seeds, pesticides, and stakes. The total expense for each plant from sowing to harvest comes out to be Rs35. On average, one plant yields between 3 to 4 kilograms of tomatoes. However, once you subtract costs such as those for harvesting, transporting, paying market commissions, and covering unloading charges, we find ourselves needing to take loans just to cover labor wages,” he explained.
The Buddhasanti Rural Municipality stands out as a frontrunner in commercial vegetable cultivation, engaging numerous farmers in this activity. At the Shantinagar Agricultural Cooperative, tomato production takes place across three bighas of land, with majority membership focusing on growing tomatoes. Nonetheless, these efforts fail to generate profits for the cooperative.
The cooperative’s president, Dilnath Kafle, mentioned that over 80 bighas dedicated to tomato cultivation can be found in wards 5 and 6 of Buddhashanti. The main trading hubs for these tomatoes are Birtamod and Charali. Nonetheless, many growers frequently end up returning home with leftover stock because they transported them using hired transport.
“Tomatoes from India are abundant in the market, leaving no space for our own crops. The Indian government offers various subsidies to their farmers, which makes their tomatoes more affordable. However, local farmers do not get this kind of assistance. As a result, our farmers struggle to compete with these imported tomatoes. Restricting imports could provide an opportunity for our farmers to thrive,” stated Kafle.
For the last three years, farmers have had to sell their crops at a loss during the prime harvest time, making it extremely difficult for them to recoup their investment. The Agriculture Knowledge Center reports that tomato cultivation spans 1,100 hectares in Jhapa, yielding approximately 22 tons per hectare on average.
Chet Raj Bhandari, an information officer at the center, stated that due to the peak tomato season and abundant production, local markets find it difficult to accommodate the surplus.
Nevertheless, he proposed that prices could increase when the rainy season starts. In the meantime, even though there isn’t much demand for local tomatoes, substantial amounts keep being brought in from India.
As reported by the Mechi Customs Office located at Nepal’s eastern frontier, the nation had imported goods valued at Rs 42.7 million in tomatoes from India by the conclusion of February.
