Tomatoes tumble to lowest prices

Morogoro. Farmers are concerned about low tomato prices. In the last season, growers enjoyed high prices.

However, this season oversupply has depressed prices and tomatoes are rotting farms.

At the Morogoro Central Market, a quarter of a tin of tomatoes is sold at Sh1,000, down from Sh5,000 last season.

Mr Hamad Mohammed, a farmer and a wholesaler, talks of a crisis because of tomato oversupply. “Tomato prices have dropped terribly.”

In Mvomero District, tomato farmers are complaining that the glut has lowered prices alarmingly.

Makuyu Village farmers told The Citizen that they were forced to sell the crop at the lowest price ever.

“We have been growing the crop for years, but we haven’t benefited. But this year is the worst,” said Mr Mbaruk Suleman.

He is sad that tomato processing factories that used to buy the crop from them have stopped doing so because many of them produce their own tomatoes.

“We now sell tomatoes at Sh1,000 a tin, down from Sh20,000 last season. This discourages us from farming.”

Ms Josephine Mateke said tomatoes were rotting on her farm because of a lack of market. “I even can’t return the cost I incurred in growing the crop.”

She called on the government to look for a tomato market.

She would like authorities to encourage foreign investors in invest in tomato processing so that farmers can have a market for the crop.

Mr Abdallah Mrisho said he invested in the crop growing and produced a lot of it, but cannot find a market.

As a result, he is unable to buy necessities.