In June last year – at the tomato seasonal price hike peak, a box of tomatoes sold between GH¢ 6,000 to GH¢ 7,000. However, a box of tomatoes which sold at GH¢ 3,500 toward the end of March and early April now sells at GH¢7,000; a 100 percent increase in few weeks.
Now, just 4 pieces of the fruit is sold at GH¢20.
This is a perennial issue. Tomato prices rise between the months of April and June, when it peaks.
‘Navrongo Tomato’ is a common name at vegetable markets in Ghana, which refers to a specific variety of the fruit that is grown in Navrongo and its environs, traversing into Burkina Faso.
This type has very smooth skin with a succulent and juicy pulp.
With these features, the ‘Navrongo tomato’ has won the hearts of Ghanaian women.
Comparatively, there is not much of a difference between the price of tomatoes in Navrongo and here in Accra.
The paint container that sells for between GH¢150 and GH¢200 in Accra is sold at Navrongo for GH¢ 150. The tomato tin selling between GH¢80 and GH¢100 in Accra is being sold at GH¢70 in Navrongo.
Perhaps, these very narrow margins cause the shortage of ‘Navrongo tomato’.
It is early yet into the price hike, but there are signs which suggest the price could rise further due shortage in Navrongo – the town that supplies a chunk of the essential fruit.
“Today no car brought tomatoes. The ones we are selling are from yesterday’s car,” recounted Matilda Osei, a tomato seller who has been selling at Makola market since 2010.
“Tomato is now expensive and scarce. We don’t even get the supply. The suppliers say they can’t get a full truckload. A full car loads 120 boxes but sometimes they bring only 40 or 50 boxes,” she added.
According to the mother who has never been absent in the past one and-a-half decades – except when ill or after childbirth – tomato sellers try hard to break even, despite perennial price hikes and shortages.
However, she complained about high rates of spoilage… exacerbated by the rise in temperature.
“If they bring it today and it doesn’t get finished in three days, it will get spoiled,” she said.
Many traders say the price hike has reduced the quantum of their business significantly, affecting their bottom line.
“When market is booming I can sell two boxes in one week. But now because it is very expensive and there’s no market, I only take one box,” said Mrs. Victoria Adom, another tomato seller at the 31st December market in Accra.
Tomato thrives and bears fruit predominantly in the dry season, mainly the reason why it is largely grown in the savannahs.
However, due to the ever-rising heat in the north – where mercury touches above 40 degrees in peak summers, expediting the rotting process of the highly perishable fruit – coupled with a surge in demand, tomato price has hiked significantly over the past few weeks.
When early rains fall on the fruit, they start developing pods, rot and then fall off; making it difficult for farmers in Navrongo to maintain production from late March, when the heavens start pouring in the surrounding areas.
The edible fruit with origins from South America plays an important role in a healthy diet – and for that matter Ghanaian cuisine. Prominent staples including Jollof – the signature Ghanaian fufu light soup – utilise the vegetable, hence the high demand.
Due to this surge in demand and the perishing of remaining stocks, expedited by the summer heat and early showers, the ‘Navrongo tomato’ has now become the new gold – hard to find.
“Now the ‘Navrongo tomato’ is not there again, the one we sell is from Burkina Faso,” Mrs. Osei recounted.
Supplying the fruit is tortuous, characterised by long travel hours due to poor road networks – which compounds the situation, considering the fruit’s short shelf-life.
A journey from Navrongo to Accra, spanning a distance of 806 km, takes approximately 15 hours according to Google. However, this conservative estimate does not factor in breakdowns and compulsory stops.
These long hours deplete the pockets of traders, as they are made to bear high transportation costs.
To break even in these glaring constraints can be a daunting task for traders.
“It is bad. We can’t even recoup our expenses. But it is our business, so we have to do it,” Mrs. Adom asserted.
“People are complaining that it is too expensive. Of 10 people that come to my stall, only one will buy,” she said, while scanning to spot a passerby she can lure to her stall to make a sale.
A chunk of the tomato being referred to as ‘Navrongo tomato’ comes from a city called Waiguya in neighbouring Burkina Faso, partly due its resemblance.
This is because Navrongo does not have the capacity to produce enough tomatoes to serve its populace and the entire country.
The Tono Dam in Navrongo was constructed to promote all-year-round farming and spur the production of such fruit/vegetables. However, tomato farmers in Navrongo are now turning to pepper, rice, garden eggs and the like because they are less perishable and more lucrative.
This is partly because there are no incentives and support for tomato farmers, who usually face huge post-harvest losses due to lack of storage facilities.
This creates avenues for an influx of tomatoes from neighbouring countries. Tomato from Burkina Faso and Togo seize the market when production in the northern parts, especially Navrongo, dwindles from late April to June.
The new season’s produce from southern parts of the country – Agogo and other parts – hit the market in July/August, which usually sends tomato prices on a nose-dive.
Some traders are calling for government intervention to ensure all-year-round tomato farming and reduce unnatural price hikes in the future.
However, from what B&FT has gathered so far, this issue doesn’t stem from a production deficit but a supply, preservation and storage one.
In about two months from now – that is in late July and subsequent months – locally produced tomatoes will flood our markets.
With this kind of excessive production for Ghanaian cuisine’s integral yet seasonal fruit, little has been done in adding value to the surplus or storing it for the off-season.
Stored at room temperature, ripe tomatoes retain best eating quality for 2 to 3 days, according to the University of California division of agriculture and natural resources.
However, it has a shelf-life between 2 to 5 days without refrigeration after it is picked. This shelf-life is contingent on the prevailing temperature and ventilation of environments in which it is kept.
When stored in a place that is not properly ventilated, a ripening hormone, ethylene, builds up quickly – eventually causing it to rot.
With refrigeration, tomato can last for 2 to 3 weeks. However, when turned into tomato puree it can last up to 2 years.
Mrs. Adom is therefore urging government to intervene by providing subsidised storage facilities to prevent recurring losses and salvage their precarious businesses.
“When government builds cold stores for us it will really help,” she pleaded, stressing that they make huge losses during this time of the year – since patronage is consistently low yet the fruit perish in no time due to the heat.
“Just yesterday I removed the soft ones from this box and today some have gone bad again. Tomorrow, too, I will take some out. I will do this till I sell all my stock,” she added.
