Tomato retail price expected to go down soon – DA

MANILA, Philippines —  The retail price of tomatoes is expected to go down within one to two weeks after it increased to P180 per kilo in the past few days, according to an official of the Department of Agriculture.

DA spokesman Arnel de Mesa attributed the spike in the retail price of tomatoes to rains spawned by Typhoon Aghon.

“Based on our communication with tomato farmers, particularly in Southern Tagalog, their produce were affected by rains brought by Typhoon Aghon. We know that too much water affects the growth of tomatoes and other vegetables such as eggplant and chili,” De Mesa said.

Based on the DA’s monitoring, the retail price of tomatoes ranges between P110 and P180 per kilo compared to last week’s P70 and P140.

Gilbert Cumila, general manager of the Nueva Vizcaya Agricultural Terminal,  said the wholesale price of tomatoes at the NVAT also increased between P70 and P110 per kilo.

Cumila said supply is sufficient, but competition among wholesale buyers pushed prices up.

De Mesa reiterated that there was no supply shortage, especially in  Central and Northern Luzon as well as Metro Manila.

The NVAT is the primary trading center for vegetables coming from the provinces of Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya as well as parts of the Cordilleras, and Central and Northern Luzon.

“These (vegetables from NVAT) are distributed in Central Luzon, Metro Manila and Southern Tagalog,” De Mesa said.

He said prices of farm produce in trading centers are lower than in retail markets.

Aside from the NVAT, other major vegetable trading centers are located in La Trinidad in Benguet, Sariaya in Quezon and Tanauan in Batangas.

In 2023, farmers were compelled to dump their tomatoes due to oversupply and low wholesale price at P8 per kilo.