Tomatoes Are The Next Big Risk To Modi's Fight Against Inflation

During Prime Minister Modi's 2018 campaign, he famously said farmers are his 'top' priority, explaining that 'TOP' means "Tomato, Onion and Potato."

Tomato prices are surging in India, putting politicians on notice as vegetables have an unusual history of toppling governments in the country.

Tomatoes, potatoes and onions form the holy trinity of Indian cooking, where they're often mixed with spices to form the base for curries, such as chicken tikka masala. The average retail price of tomatoes in India has jumped 70 percent from a month ago and 168 percent from a year earlier to 53.75 rupees (69 cents) a kilogram as of Tuesday, according to data compiled by the food ministry.

The costs of everything from cooking oil to wheat flour have climbed in the country, stoking inflation to an 8-year high in April and squeezing household budgets. The government has risked global ire by restricting wheat and sugar exports and the central bank is seen heading for another interest-rate increase this month after surprising with a hike in May.

A dovish member of the central bank's rate-setting committee has said that food prices had risen more than the monetary authorities had expected.