LIRA-Tomato farmers in Lira district and Lira City are counting losses following the Bumper harvest that has made the price to drop significantly.
The price fluctuations started two weeks ago as farmers in the district and city started harvesting and flooding the saturated market with tomatoes.
According to farmers, the middlemen and traders are only buying a few kilogrammes due to price fluctuations, even though some traders complained of the poor quality of the tomatoes produced by the farmers.
In March, a box of tomatoes was going for Shs 38,000 but this has now come down to Shs 19,000 due to the bumper harvest.
Rebecca Atim, a vendor in Lira Main Market told this reporter in an interview that the tomatoes are also arriving from as far as Mbale and Luweero districts.
She said due to unpredictable prices most of the traders are hesitant to buy most of the farmers’ tomatoes, leaving the latter disappointed.
For some traders, dealing in tomatoes now is like sports betting whereby sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose,” Atim Added.
According to Atim, it now takes a vendor more than three days to sell a box or basin of tomatoes yet previously it would take a single day.
“The consumption tomatoes in Lira City is high but we have to sell them cheaply. That is why many of us are operating at losses,” Atim further explained.
Meanwhile, Joyce Ageno said she stopped trading in tomatoes after the high supply brought down prices.
Meanwhile, consumers are relieved that prices of tomatoes have declined and can buy directly from the farmers who vend them in the villages and the city.
Josephine Acen, one of the locals in the area said she now buys tomatoes cheaply from the farmers. “I am happy because I can buy a basin of tomatoes cheaply, thanks to the bumper harvest,” said Acen.
George Lemo, also a tomato farmer, says he spent a lot of resources to produce yet the price is very low to even recover production costs.
“We always spend a lot of money buying other farm inputs such as pesticides. I am sure I won’t be able to recover the money I invested in growing the tomatoes. As farmers, we are struggling to sell the tomatoes not only to the market vendors but the community as well,” Lemo said.
When contacted to comment on the matter, Josephine Alobo, the Lira district commercial officer, acknowledged that some tomatoes are being brought from other districts hence flooding the market.
“For sure there is a high release of tomatoes in the market because these are seasonal vegetables and some of them are brought from Mbale in addition to our produce. It is true that the price of tomatoes has come down due to the bumper harvest and other supplies coming from other areas,” Alobo said.
https://thecooperator.news/imported-tomatoes-cost-west-nile-shs-15bln-annually-report/
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