Price for Tomatoes in Bangalore

Bengaluru, August 26: To Sell the Product to the Customer at Zero Margins to Promote Consumption and Generate More Demand for Tomatoes to Uplift the Marketbigbasket.com, India's largest online supermarket has taken a leadby voluntarily setting a subsistence price of tomatoes for farmers hit by crisis due to the suddencrash of tomatoes in Karnataka.

With a glut of tomatoes in the Bangalore market owing to a bumper harvest in the growing regions of Kolar, Malur and Chikbalalpur, prices in thewholesale markets have crashed to as lowas Rs 1/- per kg.

A price as low as this does not even recover the cost of production of tomatoes, which is around Rs 5/- per kg. As a first step towards addressing the ongoing crisis,bigbasket.com has decided to pay thefarmer a subsistence price of Rs 7/- per kg as against the market price of Rs 5/- to cover at leastthe cost of cultivation of the farmer and give him asustenance income.

At the same time, to be fair to the consumer, they will be selling the product to customers in Bangalore at zero margins.

"This small step being voluntarily taken by us shall change the discourse around distress sale bythe farmer and highlight the importance of right pricing in agriculture commodities, as there is the farmer on one end and the consumer on the other.

It is important, not to harm the interest of one at the cost of the other," said Vipul Mittal - National Head F&V, bigbasket.com.

PTI