Tomato prices shoot up 150%

With the holy month of Ramadan coinciding with the harsh summer season this year coupled with fall in agricultural produce, vegetable prices have skyrocketed across the Kingdom.
The new labor laws have only added to the woes of the farmers who are facing acute labor shortage leading to a drop in production.
Tomato, the most sought after vegetable, is now dearer by more than 150 percent. Needless to say that right from the poor man’s meal to the salads relished by the rich, tomato occupies the prime place in preference, and its high cost has sent consumers into a tizzy.
The price of tomato, which was just SR 4 per kg a week ago, is now hovering around SR 10 per kg in supermarkets and SR 7 in retail markets.
The locally harvested tomato, which used to sell at SR 20 per carton of 20 kg in the wholesale market, is now being sold at SR 95 per carton.
For nearly seven months, prices of tomato and other vegetable were stable due to abundant crop harvesting reported from Taif, Tabuk, Al-Kharj, Hail and Al-Ahsa, but with the temperatures soaring, the harvest season has come to an end in the Kingdom.
Tomatoes from Taif and Hail regions meet the demands of the Western Region while Al-Kharj area supplies to Riyadh Region.
With the new labor laws coming into effect, farms in Hail, Al-Kharj, Taif and Tabuk have been badly affected because most of the laborers employed in these regions are illegal expat workers.
Under normal conditions, prices of vegetables including tomato are maintained at stable levels mainly because of abundant supplies from Syria, Turkey and Jordan. However, the civil strife in Syria has affected the supply route since most Turkish supplies pass through the Syrian border.
Following the unrest, there has also been an increase in insurance premium cost for importers.
The price of a 5 kg carton of tomato from Syria, which used to sell earlier at SR 15, is now being sold at SR 32. Before the unrest, the price was just SR 5 per carton.
Saudi Arabia is now dependent on Jordan for vegetable imports. Saudi markets have begun to receive tomato supplies from Jordan in large quantities which should hopefully check the price rise in Ramadan.
Ahmed Syed, a wholesale trader of vegetables in Central Vegetable Market in Jeddah, told Arab News that the price surge during the winter season was common, but this year, the soaring temperatures coupled with new laws had affected production.
He expects the prices to shoot up further in the coming days.