Tomato arrivals at the Madanapalle wholesale market in Annamayya district fell sharply to just 45 tonnes on Saturday, January 10. This is the lowest daily arrival recorded so far in the 2025-26 season, market officials said. Despite the big drop in arrivals, prices stayed low, showing weak demand from major consuming markets. Grade-I tomatoes were sold for ₹30 per kilogram, while second-grade ones cost ₹22 per kilogram on Saturday. Just one week ago, Grade-I tomatoes sold for about ₹47 per kilogram, traders said. Madanapalle, Asia's largest tomato farming region, is now in the final stage of the Rabi harvest. Post-winter crops are still seedlings, so arrivals are expected to stay low for at least two more months until the pre-summer harvest starts. Market officials said the price fall, despite low supply, is due to a big drop in exports to other states. “Tomato cultivation has expanded phenomenally in northern States this year, reducing their dependence on Madanapalle supplies,” a marketing official said. Farmers said markets in Tamil Nadu now have many tomatoes from Karnataka. Hyderabad markets mostly get tomatoes from Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. Because of this, Madanapalle’s tomato trade is mostly limited to local markets in Tirupati, Annamayya, and Kadapa districts. Only small amounts go to Bengaluru and Chennai. "Yield has dropped drastically, but prices have not responded accordingly. The lack of outside demand is hurting farmers," said Kokkanti Manju, a tomato grower from Valmikipuram mandal. Officials expect prices to stay volatile until new harvests arrive around March.