A year ago, tomato prices were high at around $800 per pound, today they have skyrocketed to as much as $1500 and vendors and farmers say climate change and the dry weather are factors.
Vendors cited slow sales in tomatoes due to the high price and having to absorb losses due to spoilage
Trevor Fraser, a farmer in the Mahaicony area and who supplies vegetables to the Bounty Supermarket told Stabroek News that he supplied Bounty with the English variety of tomato and the price has risen incrementally over the last two months from $240 per pound to where it is now. He blames the dry weather.
He said that he has been selling tomatoes to Bounty for $800 per pound for the last two weeks and all of his English tomatoes will be finished today. “So I have no idea if I would have tomatoes to sell next week, since the last of my supply will be finished tomorrow.” Right now, his tomatoes are sold for six in a package for $1,000 per pound at Bounty, Regent Street.
Fraser posited that the extended dry weather has resulted in drought-like conditions for farmers, and the lack of water has not only affected the growth of tomatoes but all vegetables. He added that the weekly changes in price are due to these challenges.
The farmer stated that there are no simple measures farmers can put in place to mitigate the lack of water, unless they switch from in-ground farming to hydroponic or greenhouse farming. He also explained that farmers cannot depend on pipes for water because pipes don’t go all the way into the farming areas, therefore they are dependent on the canal irrigation system. And some farmers, he noted, are fortunate to be situated next to a river or creek where they are able to pump water from. In addition, the lack of water affects the quality of the produce, and in the case of the tomatoes, they are getting smaller and smaller.
He opined that it is possible that farmers might have three tiers of prices next week for different grades of tomatoes. The prices would be based on the ‘not so good’ tomatoes, the ‘tolerable’ tomatoes, and the ‘better grade’ tomatoes.
Fraser said that what also contributed to the shortages of tomatoes is when the government closed off the importation of plum tomatoes from Brazil.
The last time when Stabroek News spoke to Fraser back in August of last year, the plum tomatoes were being imported from Brazil and farmers were selling those at a cheaper price when there was a shortage of the locally-grown English tomatoes. He said that this, however have caused a big disruption in the local market as it was sold at an affordable price and many farmers complained that the competition was stiff and unfair, so the government closed off the importation of plum tomatoes to Guyana.
Now, without the plum tomatoes on the market, the English tomatoes will be in short supply for a while until the rains return, unless the government allows the importation, especially if the hospitality industry complains loudly.
Bourda
Meanwhile, Bekie Mohammed, a vegetable vendor at Bourda market said yesterday that she sells both the small and large English tomatoes. The large tomatoes retail for $1,500 per pound because she bought them from a wholesaler for $1,000 per pound. The small tomatoes retail for $1200 per pound, and it was bought for $900 per pound.
She said that steep rises in price are the result of farmers not having enough water because of the dry weather. In addition, to water woes, many of the plants have been attacked by disease further affecting the yield. Her tomatoes are selling quickly because there aren’t a lot on the market right now.
Other vendors of Bourda market complained about similar problems affecting their price when selling tomatoes in the market. But their prices differ from most of the other vendors in the market depending on how much they had to pay the wholesalers or farmers.
Naz Dalchand, a vegetable vendor, said that for about two weeks now, tomato prices have risen in the market and she recently bought a basket of English tomatoes and it took about four days to sell out. Previously, it would sell faster.
The vendor explained that the tomatoes have increased in price gradually. Last month, she sold a pound of large tomatoes for $600/$700 per pound, then in the last two weeks the price went up. She noted that last weekend, she sold a pound of tomatoes for $1,400 since the wholesaler sold it to her for $1,100/$1000. Now, this week, the wholesaler sold the tomatoes to her for $900, she is now selling a pound of tomatoes for $1000.
Some vendors are selling their large tomatoes at $1,200 per pound while others sell the same size for as much as $1,500. Small tomatoes are being sold for up to $1,200 per pound.
Most of them complained of the bad quality.
Meanwhile, Stabroek News saw only a few vendors selling tomatoes at Stabroek Market. All of the vendors complained about the bad weather. Most of the vendors who used to sell tomatoes have stopped doing so. Those vendors who still sell tomatoes either try to sell it at the cost price to keep their customers or raise the price depending on how much they purchased it for.
Another vendor, Brian Nankumar who sells tomatoes inside Stabroek Market said he buys directly from the farmers and they are complaining about the dry weather and how it’s affecting their tomatoes.
“I’m supposed to be selling a pound of tomatoes for a $1000 now but I’m selling at the cost price per pound of tomatoes. I’m at a cost price of $800 and sometimes I buy for $900. Even the cost for pesticide expensive to spray on the tomatoes plant so they are getting disease …”
