Mangaluru : The price of tomatoes has shot up considerably in the past few weeks as high temperatures in April coupled with heavy rains have damaged two consecutive crops leading to a shortage. On Friday, the price per kilo was around Rs. 80.

Added to the failure of crops is the reduction in supply from Nashik in neighbouring Maharashtra.

Suppliers in Nashik are getting better rates there. As a result, supply to Bengaluru has reduced, experts say.

“There was no flowering in April-May. There was crop damage due to high temperatures. Then there were heavy rains, which led to sand being deposited on leaves and further damage to the crops. Now the rains have stabilised and production is improving,” said a senior official with the Horticultural Producers’ Co-operative Marketing and Processing Society (HOPCOMS).

However, there is some relief as stable rain over the past few weeks has led to a small reduction in retail prices.

This trend is expected to continue in the coming weeks if the rain does not increase. Retail prices reduced by Rs. 2 on Friday (from Rs. 80 per kilo on Thursday).

Before the spurt in prices, the average retail price was in the range of Rs. 25 to Rs. 35.