Karnataka: Tomato prices surge as excess rains hit supply; onion prices crash
Bengaluru: The price of tomatoes has skyrocketed and is expected to touch Rs 100 per kg in the retail market in the coming days.
Farmers are attributing the reduced tomato yield to the heavy rains. Lakshman Gowda, a tomato farmer from Kolar, explained that the rainfall this year has led to a poor harvest. “This along with virus attacks has reduced the yield drastically while the demand has remained high. Hence the prices have shot up,” Deccan Herald quoted Lakshman Gowda, a tomato farmer from Kolar, as saying.
Dealers at the Kolar Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) have reported a 40% drop in the arrival of tomatoes at the market.
Srinath, a dealer at Kolar APMC, explained that they previously received around 3,500 tonnes of tomatoes daily, but that number has now fallen to approximately 2,000 tonnes. “While crop loss in Karnataka has brought down the yield, the bad rains in Maharashtra has meant that a lot of produce from Karnataka is also being sent to meet the demand in North India. Hence the crisis,” DH quoted him as saying.
Meanwhile, onion prices have seen a sharp reversal. In contrast to the soaring prices of tomatoes, onions are now available for as low as Rs 5 per kilogram in the wholesale market. Dealers at the Yeshwantpur APMC market have pointed to the moist weather conditions, which have damaged onion crops, leading to a surplus of low-quality produce.
“Of the onions coming to the market, only about 10% is good and the rest is of poor quality. The rains damaged the crops bringing the yield down and now the moist weather conditions have meant that many are rotting even during transportation. Since good quality onion is not available, the price has remained low,” the newspaper quoted Ravi Shankar from the Yeshwantpur APMC yard as saying.
The situation is reportedly expected to persist for at least the next two months, after which some relief is anticipated.
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Former India hockey coach Michael Nobbs dies
Melbourne (PTI): Former Australian hockey player Michael Nobbs, who coached the Indian men's team at the 2012 London Olympics, has died after a prolonged illness.
He was 72 years old and is survived by his wife Lee Capes, a former Australian women's international and daughter Kaitlin, who is a current Hockeyroos star.
"Hockey Australia extends its deepest condolences to Michael’s family, friends, former teammates, players and all those whose lives and careers were shaped by his contribution to hockey. He will be remembered as a proud Kookaburra, a respected professional, and a servant of the sport," Hockey Australia said in a statement.
Nobbs represented Australia as a defender, playing across the half-back line and at fullback, and was renowned for his reliability, fitness and professionalism. He earned 76 international caps for Australia between 1979 and 1985, scoring one goal, and was a member of one of the strongest eras in Australian men’s hockey, said Hockey Australia on its website in its tribute.
Nobbs was an integral part of the Australian teams that competed at the 1981 Hockey World Cup in Bombay and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
While part of a generation widely regarded as one of Australia’s finest, he consistently held his place through hard work, discipline and trust earned from teammates and coaches, Hockey Australia wrote.
Nobbs took over the coaching of the Indian men's team in 2011 after it had failed to qualify for the Beijing Games in 2008. While India were brilliant in the qualifiers, the team finished last at the London extravaganza which also expedited the Australian coach's sacking.
Apart from India, Nobbs also coached Japan.
