India’s vegetables and fruits prices are expected to rise in the coming days, with a decline in the production of potatoes and tomatoes. The prices of the two vegetables have always been volatile.
The Ministry of Agriculture’s third advance estimate of horticulture highlighted that potato and tomato production is estimated to have declined by 4-5 per cent during the crop year that ended July 2022, while onion output remained higher than the previous year. The production of overall vegetables is projected to be higher at 204.84 million tonnes as against 200.45 million tonnes in the said period. These crops include those sown in the last fiscal year and harvested or marketed in the current one, depending on harvesting cycles.
Releasing the third advance estimate of production of horticultural crops, the government said potato production is pegged to be lower by five per cent at 53.39 million tonnes in 2021-22, as against 56.17 million tonnes in the previous year. Similarly, production of tomato is estimated to have declined by four per cent to 20.33 million tonnes as against 21.18 million tonnes in the comparable period.
However, production of onion is pegged higher at 31.27 million tonnes during the 2021-22 crop year as against 26.64 million tonnes in the previous year.
The estimate showed that production of fruits is also estimated to be higher at 107.24 million tonnes during 2021-22 crop year as against 102.48 million tonnes in the previous year.