Kathmandu, June 18
Citing unfair market prices, farmers have resorted to dumping tomatoes on the road at Kalimati Vegetable Market.
According to Binaya Shrestha, the information officer of Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Development Board, farmers threw tomatoes in and around the market area as it was no longer being consumed.
Around 30,000 kgs (30 tonnes) were thrown on the road on Sunday.
Geeta Acharya, president of Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Traders Committee said the farmers from Ramkot, Nagarjuna and Thankot were forced to throw their products as they did not get a fair market price.
Nevertheless, there are doubts about the claim that farmers threw away the tomatoes, as they do not typically bring such large amounts to Kathmandu.
Traders at Kalimati vegetable market believe this was a stunt with the intention of inflating prices by intermediaries.
But Samartha Dhungana, a vegetable trader from Kalimati, says approximately 5,000 farmers’ produce was destroyed on Sunday.
“The produce was thrown discarded when it failed to sell even at a price of Rs 4 per kg. This incident occurred first in Chitwan and now in Kathmandu,” said Dhungana.
The Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Traders Committee has fixed the wholesale price of small tomatoes at Rs 8 per kg for Sunday. However, tomatoes are being sold for up to Rs 30 per kg in the retail market in Kathmandu.
