Express View on price of tomatoes: No red flag
Express View on price of tomatoes: No red-flagTill two decades or so, tomatoes were a luxury during May-July and mostly available in the winter and spring months. Their retail prices rising some five times to an average of Rs 100/kg in the last one month is a reminder of tomatoes not being a vegetable for the hot and humid season.While amenable to growing round-the year, plantings happen mainly during June-August (with the monsoon rains) and October-November. Given a 120-125 days’ crop cycle — the first fruits are ready for harvesting after 60-70 days and the subsequent “ flushes ” every 7-10 days — it means that the supplies pick-up from mid-August and tail-off towards March-end.But thanks-to breeding of hybrids that can withstand high temperatures, plus water-saving technologies such as drip irrigation and plastic mulching, farmers are now also planting tomatoes during December-April for selling through the summer till August. And they realise better prices too.Neither should consumers complain nor must the government worry about the current skyrocketing tomato prices. Summer tomatoes, even though cultivated in places such as Kolar in Karnataka and Junnar in Maharashtra, are not supposed to come cheap. This time, the crop itself was impacted because of pest and disease attacks, an abnormally hot February and — ironically — a price crash in March-April that led farmers not to harvest beyond 1-2 pickings . The price spiral now is, to that-extent , a one-off phenomenon because of too many things happening at once. Tomatoes are, moreover , perishable and not amenable to storage, unlike potatoes or onions. Processing of surplus tomato into puree or paste for use when prices of fresh produce spike is a good idea — provided consumers accept it. It probably makes more practical sense to wait for the next season’s crop. In this case, that could be in about two months’ time.From a larger policy standpoint , overall price-stability is what counts . Fretting over individual items within the consumer food basket — their costing more during certain months — serves no useful purpose.A year or even six months ago, everything from edible oil to wheat and milk was on-fire . Those generalised food inflationary pressures have clearly subsided . Even if tomatoes are expensive, the likes-of onion, potato and most other fruits and vegetables aren’t. Besides, high prices are an incentive for farmers to produce more. Policymaking should be as sensitive to price crashes as surges .
Count (noun) – Consideration, factor, aspect, point,
मायने में
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Red flag (phrase) – a warning of danger.
खतरे की चेतावनी
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Decade (noun) – A period of ten years
दशक
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Reminder (noun) – A thing that causes someone to remember something.
की याद दिलाता है
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Humid (adjective) – Moist, damp, muggy, wet
नम
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Amenable (to) (adjective) – willing to accept
में सक्षम होना
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Planting (noun) – the activity of putting plants into the ground or into a container of soil so that they will grow
रोपण
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Round the year (phrase) – Throughout the entire year
साल भर
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Given (preposition) – considering, taking into account, bearing in mind, given that, in view of.
देखते हुए
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Harvest (verb) – to pick and collect crops,
फ़सल काटना
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Subsequent (adjective) – following, succeeding, next, later.
बाद में
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Flush (noun) – the period or intervals in which fruits or crops become ready for harvest after the initial pickings.
लाल हो जाना
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Pick up (phrasal verb) – improve, increase, rise, recover
. बढ़ना
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Tail off (phrasal verb) – decrease, lessen, diminish, subside
. कम होना
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Thanks to (phrase) – due to, because of, as a result of, owing to.
की वजह से
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Hybrid (noun) – a thing made by combining two different elements.
संकरण
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Withstand (verb) – resist, endure, survive, bear.
सहना
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Drip irrigation (noun) – a type of micro-irrigation system that has the potential to save water and nutrients by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either from above the soil surface or buried below the surface.
बूंद-बूंद सिंचाई
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Plastic mulching (noun) – a product used in plasticulture in a similar fashion to mulch, to suppress weeds and conserve water in crop production and landscaping.
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Skyrocketing (adjective) – escalating, surging, increasing rapidly, shooting up.
तेजी से बढ़ना
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Cultivate (verb) – grow, raise, plant, farm.
खेती करना
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Pest (noun) – parasite, scourge, nuisance, annoyance.
कीट
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Abnormally (adverb) – unusually, extraordinarily, exceptionally.
असामान्य रूप से
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Ironically (adverb) – paradoxically, unexpectedly, strangely.
विडम्बना स्वरूप
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Lead (to) (verb) – Cause, give rise to, result in, bring about
वजह बनना
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Picking (noun) – the act of picking (crops or fruit or hops etc.)
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Spiral (noun) – a progressive rise or fall of prices
उतार – चढ़ाव (कीमतों में)
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To that extent (phrase) – To that degree, To that level, As far as that is concerned, So much so.
उस हद तक
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One-off (adjective) – done, made, or happening only once
एक-बार
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Phenomenon (noun) – Occurrence, Event, Happening, Situation.
घटना
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Moreover (adverb) – Additionally, Furthermore, Besides, In addition.
इसके अलावा
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Perishable (adjective) – (especially of food) likely to decay or go bad quickly
सड़ने योग्य
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Unlike (preposition) – Contrary to, Different from, In contrast to.
के विपरीत
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Puree (noun) – a smooth cream of liquidized or crushed fruit or vegetables.
प्यूरी
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Produce (noun) – Yield, Product, Crop, Harvest.
उत्पादन/ उपज
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Spike (noun) – Surge, Sharp increase, Boost, Jump.
तेज वृद्धि
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Provided (conjunction) – Assuming, If, On condition that, Given that.
यदि, बशर्ते कि
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Probably (adverb) – Likely, Possibly, Presumably, Perhaps. शायद
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Standpoint (noun) – Perspective, Point of view, Outlook, Position.
दृष्टिकोण
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Price stability (noun) – when the average price levels are constant for more extended period and vary slowly
मूल्य स्थिरता
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Fret (over) (verb) – Worry about, Agonize over, Stew over.
चिंता करना
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Serve (verb) – be of use in achieving or satisfying.
पूरा करना
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Edible (adjective) – Eatable, Consumable, Digestible, Palatable.
खाने योग्य
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On fire (phrase) – Rapidly increasing
तेजी से बढ़ना
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Generalised (adjective) – Broad-based, Universal, Widespread, Common.
सामान्यीकृत
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Inflationary pressure (noun) – the demand and supply-side pressures that can cause a rise in the general price level.
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Subside (verb) – Lessen, Decrease, Diminish, Abate.
कम होना
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The likes of (phrase) – The same as, Similar to, Comparable to, Such as.
के समान , जैसा कि
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Incentive (noun) – Encouragement, Motivation, Stimulus, Inducement.
प्रोत्साहन
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Policymaking (noun) – Policy formulation, Policy creation, Policy development.
नीति निर्माण
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Sensitive (adjective) – Responsive, Reactive, Susceptible, Receptive.
संवेदनशील
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Surge (noun) – Sudden rise, Increase, Upswing, Boost.
तेजी से बढ़ना