Pune: A persistent shortage of commercial cooking gas across Maharashtra has forced the hospitality sector to scale down operations, resulting in drastic reduction in bulk purchases of tomatoes.The sudden drop in institutional demand has left farmers in a state of deep distress, with many unable to recover even half of their production costs.In just a few weeks, wholesale tomato prices have plummeted from Rs25–30 per kg to a meagre Rs10–15 per kg.“The hotel industry is one of the largest consumers of tomatoes. With the gas supply becoming erratic, many kitchens are simply not operating at full capacity,” said Akshay Shinde, a trader at the Narayangaon wholesale market, one of the state’s largest tomato hubs. “This has led to a sharp drop in bulk purchases.”Industry players report that the scarcity of commercial LPG cylinders has disrupted daily operations, forcing many hotels, restaurants, and small eateries to either limit their menus or temporarily shut down. This disruption has directly hit the agricultural market, specifically for tomatoes—a staple of Indian commercial kitchens.Sharad Gongade, secretary, Narayangaon APMC, expressed concern over the rising surplus. “We are seeing arrivals of over 11,000 crates daily (20kg per crate) from various districts. If the situation does not normalise soon, there is no scope for price recovery. This is becoming a massive crisis for growers,” Gongade told TOI.For growers in the key producing belts of Narayangaon and Junnar, the timing of the price crash is disastrous. Farmers were already grappling with high yields and excess arrivals; the withdrawal of their primary institutional buyers has made the situation unsustainable.“Earlier, a large portion of our produce went to hotels and caterers. Now, those orders have dried up,” said one local farmer. “Even with prices this low, there are simply no buyers. We won’t be able to recover our capital, which will ruin our planning for the upcoming kharif season.”In many cases, the current market rates do not even cover the cost of transportation to the market, leading some farmers to consider abandoning their harvests entirely.Small eateries and roadside vendors have been hit the hardest. To cope with the gas shortage, many have reduced their operating hours or shifted to “limited menus” that require less fuel, further driving down the demand for fresh produce.“Commercial kitchens depend entirely on LPG. Any shortage directly affects our ability to function,” said Shekhar Pansare, a restaurant owner in Chakan. “We are facing the double blow of rising operational costs and falling business.”Agriculture experts say this crisis highlights the delicate link between urban consumption and rural production.“This situation underscores how fragile the supply chain is,” said a senior agriculture official. “A disruption in the energy sector has cascaded into the hospitality sector and, ultimately, into the pockets of the farmers, amplifying economic stress across the entire state.”
