Puree, paste demand up

Online marketplaces, retailers, and makers of tomato purees reported the demand spike following a jump in prices of fresh produce and the unavailability of quality produce in the market.

“We have witnessed a 5x and 1.3x rise in demand for tomato purée and tomato ketchup, respectively, on Amazon Fresh over the past few weeks. This could be due to the recent increase in tomato prices nationwide,” said Srikant Sree Ram, director of Amazon Fresh.

A tomato ketchup manufacturer, on the condition of anonymity, said demand for tomato puree and ketchup is up by 17-18% over the last month. “There is a lot of hoarding happening on the puree side. Consumers need to understand that it is unlikely to go out of stock because companies already procure tomato paste months in advance and have enough stock in the market,” he said.

However, companies selling more speciality products such as pasta and pizza sauces are feeling the impact of a tomato shortage as well as price hikes. With the unavailability of quality tomatoes, it is becoming hard to supply speciality sauces, said the person cited above. “We have gone slow on the production of such sauces because procuring quality tomatoes is also a challenge currently. The incessant rainfall has impacted crops. We expect this situation to last for the next 3-4 weeks, during which we will take a hit on our margins as we procure tomatoes at very high rates from the market,” he added.

Consumer anxiety over the common kitchen produce comes after tomato prices jumped across India from ₹40 kg in June to more than ₹200 earlier his week in the capital. In fact, retail prices of perishables, especially vegetables, have risen steeply in northern India after heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab, Mint reported earlier. As a result, vegetable prices have surged 25-100%; in some cases, consumers are facing a shortage of a variety of vegetables.

Meanwhile, Mother Dairy-backed frozen vegetable brand Safal which sells peas and vegetables, frozen sweet corn, and frozen jackfruit, said demand for its frozen vegetables has spiked. “There is a spike in Safal Tomato Puree and frozen vegetables in the last 15 days, registering a growth of 300% and 50%, respectively,” said a company spokesperson at Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Pvt. Ltd.

A company spokesperson for FMCG company Dabur India Ltd said there is a surge in demand for its portfolio of Homemade cooking pastes and purees, including tomato puree and even ginger paste. Ginger prices touched ₹400 a kilo in Delhi this week. Such products are facing temporary supply challenges in various zip codes.

Last week, some outlets of fast food chain McDonald’s pulled tomatoes from their menus, citing a shortage of quality supplies of the fruit.

Meanwhile, Saurabh Maheshwari, senior vice president at instant grocery startup Zepto, said consumers are reacting to a surge in vegetable prices by buying processed alternatives. “It has been interesting to see the impact of the surge in the price of tomatoes on other categories. While the obvious to grow would be tomato alternatives like tomato purée (sales 120% higher than the first week of June) and ketchup (sales 20% higher than the first week of June), we are also seeing a 15% uptick in sales of frozen veggies (peas, sweet corn, mix veggies) and close to 20% in pulses,” he said.

Fresh tomatoes continue to be critical to Indian homes, evident from the strong demand that persists on the platform. “Our strong demand planning and fruits and vegetables supply chain has certainly enabled us to stock better and replenish faster. This is also the reason why we’re able to sell tomatoes at non-inflationary prices ( ₹49/500 gms) across various regions,” he said.

Updated: 15 Jul 2023, 12:14 AM IST