Nepal: Farmers fail to sell tomatoes for Rs 10 per kg in Kathmandu while consumers are forced to pay Rs 70 in Pokhara

POKHARA, June 20: Farmers on Sunday dumped around 400,000 kilograms of tomatoes on the street adjacent to Kathmandu’s main vegetable market in Kalimati for not getting the expected price for their produce. The farmers expressed anger after they were not able to sell the tomatoes even though they offered to sell the tomatoes at a throw-away price of Rs 10 per kg. They argued that tomatoes were being sold at a much higher price in Pokhara. Currently, the retail price of tomatoes in Pokhara ranges from Rs 65 to Rs 70 per kilogram. The wholesale price of tomatoes in Pokhara is around Rs 55 per kilogram. When the retailers buy tomatoes from the wholesale market at around Rs 55 per kilogram and sell it with a profit, the consumers have to pay up to Rs 70 per kilogram. Market analysis has revealed that the businessmen have been fixing the price of tomatoes arbitrarily in Pokhara. Apart from that, the residents of Pokhara always face the compulsion to buy vegetables at a higher price, as ...