With tomato priced out of kitchen, pumpkin steps up

In the battle for tomatoes, the pumpkin has emerged as a winner.

- Aheli Das and Leena Dhankhar

Tomato prices in the National Capital Region spiked in the second week of June, with the cost of lkg of the kitchen staple doubling crossing the ₹100-mark on June 27. Wholesalers and traders have blamed the sudden spike to rain hitting produce and transportation logistics.

However, the sudden increase in the prince of tomatoes has led to a an increase in the demand for pumpkin, driving up its price at both wholesale and retail markets.

A large part of the demand, vendors said, is coming from hotels and restaurants that have switched to pumpkin for use in soups, ketchup and gravies to manage costs.