Changeable weather, high input costs and high demand have contributed to tomato prices increasing for the third month in the row in Zambia's Copperbelt province. The commodity is fetching around K250 per box in major towns in the province, and has risen from about K150 to K350 in some areas.
According to the Zambia National Farmers’ Union Friday brief presented to the Zambia Daily Mail on June 8, a box of tomatoes is priced at about K320 to K400 per box in Kasumbalesa border post in Chililabombwe.
“Prices of the commodity have kept on appreciating because of the ever increasing demand, despite many farmers going into tomato production. There has been an unprecedented demand for the commodity within and around Copperbelt, especially by the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo,” the union says.
Similarly, in Lusaka, a survey conducted by the Daily Mail revealed that a box of tomato was fetching between K200 and K300.
(1 Zambian Kwacha=0.00009 USD)
Source: daily-mail.co.zm