Nairobi Hit by Acute Shortage of Tomatoes

A random check in various parts of the city revealed that tomato supply has significantly reduced by more than half while the demand still remains high.

One tomato is now retailing at between 10 and 20 shillings from the normal price of three tomatoes per 10 shillings on wholesale and four tomatoes per 20 shillings on wholesale.

On Tuesday morning, retailers scrambled for the few supply of tomatoes in Kariokor market as well as other parts but most of them went back empty handed.

A quick check along Juja Road, Huruma and parts of Eastleigh yesterday evening, revealed a totally lack of tomatoes on the markets.

“There are no tomatoes. When we went to the market to buy on our usual wholesale suppliers, they told us they had no supply. The few who had were selling it a high prices,” said Mrs. Mary Wangeshi, a business lady at Roundabout near Mathare.

Read: Tomato Price Highest Compared to Other Horticultural Products in the Market

“The heavy rains that had rocked the country in the past few months greatly affected the crop,” said Mr. Ng’ang’a Peter, a tomato wholesale supplier.

Some traders too blamed the weekly demonstrations by the opposition Coalition for Reforms and Democracy, CORD as a reason why the supplies could not reach most parts of the city.

Elsewhere in Bungoma County, farmers have called on government to investigate claims that they have been sidelined in the issuance of subsidized fertilizer from the government.

Most farmers have said that they have never received the subsidized fertilizer ever since the program kicked off and that every time they go to the National Cereals in Moi’s Bridge, they are told that the fertilizer is out of stock.

They have said that they have been on the receiving end of unscrupulous fertilizer vendors who have been selling the much needed commodity especially this season at a price of 3500 to 4500 shillings per bag while the subsidized one is supposed to go at 1800 shillings per bag.

“I think the only farmers who have somehow benefitted from the subsidized fertilizer are those from the Rift Valley and Trans Nzoia region. For most of farmers here, it is only about hearing about it,” Said Mr. Godfrey Eliato, a cereal farmer in Ndalu, Bungoma County.

In other news, business people in Nairobi and other towns have vowed to protect their businesses during the weekly protests organized by Coalition for Reforms and Democracy, CORD while blaming the government for doing little to protect them.

On Monday, it is estimated that close to a billion shilling worth of business property were looted and destroyed by CORD supporters who turned into looters.

In Kisumu, Tumaini Supermarket was the greatest loser in the hands of rowdy youths who made away with electronics as well as other commodities while literally breaking others into pieces.

The government has since suspended any form of demonstration in a move that is likely to create a much more deep crisis as the opposition on the other hand has increased the number of days of demonstrations from one to two.

The business community has been on the receiving end all through since the beginning of the protests more than a month ago.