In less than a month the price of a kilo of tomato increased from $40 to almost $200with specific cases in which it already exceeds that value by light, and that has to do with the effect of winter on production, with weather conditions that have an impact so that there is less supply and thus the price skyrockets.
A week ago the price of a kilo of tomato varied between $50 and $100 in greengrocers in Montevideo – previous weeks the product was worth $40 a kilo – but this Monday, according to a survey carried out by The Observerthe product can be found between $130 to $189 per kilo in greengrocers, and between $139 and $158 in supermarkets.
Merchants of Punto Fresco (located in the Mercado Agrícola de Montevideo, MAM) and Mercado de la Curva (located in Aquiles Lanza and Soriano) agreed that the rise in prices was strongly noted this weekend and it has to do with the fact that there is very little supply.
Although the demand is not high, because the consumption of this product is linked to high temperatures (more is bought when it is hotter), restaurants and gastronomic establishments buy it and this maintains demand levels.
Leonardo Carreno
There is little tomato supply due to how winter affected the crops.
Tomatoes and the Night of Nostalgia
During last week Nostalgia Night influenced the fruit and vegetable marketindicated a report from the Farmer Observatory, an undertaking carried out within the framework of an agreement between the General Directorate of the Farm (Digegra) of the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP) and the Metropolitan Agrifood Unit (UAM).
The report published this Monday details that since the beginning of this week the market has seen a significant increase in the price of tomatoes, especially cherry tomatoes, due to the increase in demand for catering services and restaurants due to the celebration of the Night of Nostalgia.
A kilo of cherry tomato is available at $250 in greengrocers and reaches up to $458 in supermarkets.
“The change (in price) occurred essentially towards the weekend, since the national holiday affected the minor remission from the northern zone. Also, the environmental factors have not been optimal for the development and maturation of the fruits in the cropsincluding bell pepper, cucumber and eggplant, in which upward variations were also observed towards the end of the week”, indicated the document released by the UAM.
winter hit
Diego Romero, a member of the Farmer Observatory, explained to The Observer that The increase in prices of this product is mainly due to the winter conditions and how they influenced the development of the crop..
“The one that is consumed now is a fruit that formed two months ago, when the weather conditions were worse. The winter was cold and with many cloudy days, there were humidity problems and it was more difficult to form the fruit“, he detailed, adding: “In a winter with milder cold and not so cloudy, the price increase was not that much, but this year that did not happen.”
As he advanced, the price is expected to increase, as well as that of the bell pepper, another fruit vegetable that has little supply and high prices. The bell pepper in stores in Montevideo is sold between $119 and $144 per kilo.
