Tomato effect: tamarind prices up, but farmers in Karnataka not a happy lot

Tomato prices remain high, while tamarind prices also increasing. Farmers not happy as brokers getting profit. Harvesting and processing tamarind a challenge due to labour cost, lack of tech. Farmers giving trees on lease, shifting to areca nut. Govt should take decision on cold storage to help tamarind growers in Tumakuru.

While tomatoes remain out of reach for many as prices continue to be high, the humble tamarind, which was coming to the rescue of many a tomato-bereaved household, is also seeing an increase in prices.

As on Friday, July 21,2023, the price of tomato per kg was ₹ 110 and ₹ 11,000 per quintal, while tamarind per kg was ₹ 180 and ₹ 18,000 per quintal.

However, farmers are not happy with tamarind price increasing in the market. They say only the brokers are getting profit from the price increasing. Due to the lower prices, high cost of processing, labour problem, lack of technology and other reasons, tamarind growers are uprooting the trees and turning to other commercial crops in Tumakuru, Kolar and Chikkaballapur.

Tamarind is grown in areas with moderate rain, such as Tumakuru, Kolar, Chikkaballapur and Ramanagara. However, harvesting and processing this crop is a major challenge for the farmers.

There is no technology for harvesting and processing of tamarind and farmers are doing all these works manually. However, farmers are facing labour problem and the labour cost is also expensive for harvesting tamarind. They pay around ₹ 1,000 per labour per day for harvesting and ₹ 500 for helpers and collectors. As a result, most farmers are giving tamarind trees for lease and the price will be fixed on the basis of the yield.

Speaking to The Hindu, progressive farmer Totli Ramesh from Kolar district said, “Earlier, in the tamarind season, brokers used to come from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to Kolar. But, in recent days, the number of brokers from those states has declined. Due to the labour problem and manpower required for harvesting and processing, we give each tamarind tree for ₹ 1,500 to 2,000 on lease to the brokers.”