onions and tomatoes are the main vegetables in India, and India is also the world's second largest tomato producer, producing about 20 million tons of tomatoes per year, accounting for 11% of the world's total. But in recent days, due to the impact of extreme weather, Indian tomato production has fallen, and prices have soared 700 percent. Crazy tomato prices make some farmers become the real "tomato rich man", but also make some farmers suffer huge economic losses or even death. According to NDTV, two farmers guarding their tomato crops were murdered in Anamaya district of Andhra Pradesh on July 17.

According to the Hindustan Times, the price of tomatoes per kilogram is about 160 rupees (about 14 yuan) in Pune, the second largest city in the Indian state of Maharashtra, and 190 rupees (about 17 yuan) per kilogram in Nagpur, the second capital of the state. In addition, data compiled by the Indian Ministry of Food shows that the retail price of tomatoes in Delhi, India, was 178 rupees/kg (about 15 yuan) in mid-July, up 700 percent from 27 rupees (about 2 yuan) on January 1. Just two months ago, the market was oversupplied and crops were selling for so little that videos of farmers dumping tomatoes on the street appeared on social media.

Since May, affected by extreme weather such as continuous high temperatures above 40 ° C and anti-seasonal heavy rains, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, India's major tomato-producing states, have suffered serious floods. The price of tomatoes, India's staple food, has suddenly soared amid widespread crop damage, disrupted supply chains and shortages in the market. In Karnataka, one of India's largest tomato producing states, prices have also surpassed 100 rupees. After days of heavy rain, the transport crisis further caused the price of tomatoes to soar, with prices soaring by 700 percent. The shortage of tomatoes has also affected some McDonald's restaurants in India, with several McDonald's restaurants in northern India announcing that they would temporarily remove tomatoes from their recipes because purchasing departments could not obtain enough tomatoes to meet the quality requirements.

The soaring price of tomatoes has brought huge profits to some Indian farmers. On July 19, the Hindustan Times reported that since June 11, Gayakar, a farmer from Pune, had earned about 30 crore rupees (about 2.63 million yuan) by selling about 17,000 boxes of tomatoes, each 20 kg box, at a price of 770-2,211 rupees (about 67.6-202 yuan). Become the real "tomato rich man". Compared with the 30 rupees per kilogram he had originally expected to sell for, the tomatoes are extremely profitable this season. But in fact, despite the soaring prices, only a few farmers have benefited. Indian agriculture department officials said tomato cultivation in Maharashtra state has decreased by more than 50 percent this season, from more than 40,000 hectares to 18,438 hectares.

In response to rising national tomato inflation, the central government has directed agencies such as the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Marketing of India (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India (NCCF) to purchase vegetables in a timely manner, reducing the subsidized price of tomatoes in major cities from Rs 90 / kg to Rs 80 / kg, The Times of India reported. Sanjay Gupta, managing director and chief executive Officer of National Commodity Management Services Limited (NCML), has predicted that tomato prices in India will continue to rise in the coming weeks and it will take at least two months to see price stabilization.