War In West Asia Disrupts Tomato Exports: Jharkhand's Farmers Forced To Sell Produce At Low Prices

The ripples of the war in West Asia are being felt in India's heartland. The ongoing conflict in the Gulf region has begun to now affect Jharkhand’s farmers. They say they are being compelled to sell their vegetables in local markets at very low prices. Outlook tried to look into these reports to understand the situation in detail.

Over the past few years, vegetables grown in Jharkhand have been exported to Gulf countries such as UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. This process began after the COVID-19 pandemic through initiatives taken by the state government and its agriculture department.

Because of the war on Iran unleashed by US and Israel, the export of perishable vegetables like tomatoes has been disrupted. Farmers growing tomatoes in Jharkhand are being forced to sell their produce at prices as low as seven rupees per kilogram. In such conditions, farmers have no option but to sell tomatoes and other vegetables in local markets at reduced rates, which has directly affected their income.

Although tomatoes are grown across Jharkhand, the Patamda block in East Singhbhum district and Balumath block in Latehar district are especially known for their production.

Says Yadunath Gorai, a resident of Patamda block, “There is too much tomato supply in the market right now. Earlier, a large portion used to go outside the country, but that has also been affected. Agents used to purchase tomatoes from our block and send them to Gulf countries. However, because of the war, they are no longer coming to buy. This has created serious problems for us. We are now forced to sell in local markets at low rates, and we are not even able to recover our cost of cultivation.”

Gorai isn't the only one impacted by the conflict. Forty-eight-year-old Yadunath Gorai has been cultivating tomatoes for the past thirty years. This season, he planted tomatoes across 60 acres and produced nearly 1,500 to 1,600 tonnes. He says tomatoes from his area are known across the eastern zone for their quality as well as for high off-season production.

In Patamda alone, more than two thousand farmers cultivate tomatoes on nearly 2,500 acres of land, producing around 50,000 tonnes annually. However, according to Yadunath, even the best-quality tomatoes cannot be stored for more than 30 days. As a result, farmers are forced to sell them quickly at lower prices to avoid spoilage.

It is worth noting that Jharkhand does not have adequate cold storage facilities for vegetables. Because of this, hundreds of vegetable farmers like Yadunath often suffer losses when they are compelled to sell their produce at low prices.

Yadunath says that if weather conditions, market demand, and irrigation remain favourable, a farmer in Patamda can earn up to ten lakh rupees a year from tomato cultivation.

Nazim Ansari, a farmer from Balumath in Latehar district, has been cultivating tomatoes since 2013. He claims that he alone has produced more than 600 tonnes of tomatoes. His produce is supplied to Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, and also to Gulf countries. Nazim Ansari says, “Most of the tomatoes from our area are harvested during the season. By February, most of the stock from our block had already been sold, so we did not suffer much loss. The tomatoes that go to Gulf countries are collected directly from the village by companies and agents. Since most of our produce had already moved out by the end of February, the impact on us has been limited.”

He further says that in his village alone, more than a thousand farmers cultivate tomatoes on an average of five acres each, producing over 50,000 tonnes annually.

Apart from these areas, tomatoes are also widely cultivated in Ranchi, Gumla, East Singhbhum, Lohardaga, Latehar, Simdega, Palamu, and the Santhal Pargana region. According to a CEIC report, tomato production in Jharkhand stood at 3.1 lakh tonnes in 2023, rose to 4.17 lakh tonnes in 2024, and was recorded at 2.29 lakh tonnes in 2025.

A research study has found that tomato productivity in Jharkhand remains below the national average. One major reason is the long supply chain involving agents, traders, and commission intermediaries, which prevents farmers from receiving fair prices for their produce. At the same time, consumers continue to buy tomatoes at higher rates. A significant share of the profit goes to intermediaries, while farmers receive the smallest portion.

The report also noted that facilities for tomato processing, such as sauce and pulp production, are almost absent in the state. Farmers also lack direct links with markets, retail chains, and export channels. Due to the absence of cold storage, transport support, and reliable market information, post-harvest losses remain high.

Tomato prices depend largely on demand and supply conditions, weather patterns, transportation costs, and the role of intermediaries. To address these issues, the report recommends the establishment of cold storage facilities and processing units, improvement in transport systems, stronger direct market linkages for farmers, wider use of the e-NAM platform, strengthening of Farmer Producer Organisations and cooperative models, and the adoption of modern farming techniques along with improved seeds and fertilisers.

B. N. Singh, president of the Jharkhand unit of the All India Kisan Mahasabha, says that the war has affected people across the country, including those in Jharkhand. He adds that the state produces not only tomatoes but many other vegetables in large quantities. However, the government has neither created cold storage infrastructure nor fixed any minimum support price for vegetables. “We have been demanding for a long time that, like Kerala, cold storage facilities should be set up here, and MSP should be provided for vegetables so that farmers receive fair prices,” he says.

Farmers in Jharkhand face several difficulties. The government often makes promises regarding MSP but fails to implement them fully. Even when crops are procured, payments are frequently delayed. As a result, farmers are forced to sell their produce at low prices to middlemen directly from their fields.

Most farmers in Jharkhand are able to grow only one crop in a year. They receive MSP benefits mainly for paddy. Due to the lack of irrigation facilities, wheat cultivation is limited in the state. Farmers’ organisations have therefore been demanding MSP for crops such as mandua, lac, and maize. Since vegetable cultivation is also carried out on a large scale in Jharkhand, they argue that the government should procure vegetables at MSP, following the model adopted in Kerala.

According to the 2011 Census, nearly 80 per cent of Jharkhand’s population of 3.29 crore lives in rural areas, and around 70 per cent of this rural population depends on agriculture for livelihood. Despite this large number, farmers believe their concerns receive limited attention from the government. Farmers’ organisations estimate that the number of farmers in the state is more than fifty lakh.