Never have tomatoes been this expensive in Pakistan’s history. The country has seen floods and crop failures before, but crossing Rs500 per kilogram — as prices have in some parts — sets a new record. Ask your ammi how hard it is to make a decent gravy without this kitchen staple. Even pulses — the food of the impoverished — rely on tomatoes for richness and taste.

According to the Household Integrated Economic Survey of 2018-19, an average household spent Rs173 a month on tomatoes, as per Gallup Pakistan’s Tomato Production in Pakistan report. That wouldn’t buy even half a kilogram of tomatoes at the current rates.

A study published in the Journal of Bioresource Manag­ement estimates Pakistan’s per capita tomato consumption at around 8kg a year — roughly 20 grams a day. This means most people don’t eat tomatoes raw in salads or omelettes; they consume them as part of gravies and cooked dishes.

Typically, tomatoes are planted twice a year in Pakistan — the spring crop (sown January to March) and the autumn crop (sown July to September). By October, the autumn harvest usually hits the market and helps bring prices down. But not this time — floods and supply disruptions have pushed prices high, as shown in the chart.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, October 20th, 2025