Unravelling Fallacies about Tomato Food
Loss at the Retail Level

Considerable volumes of fruits and vegetables often get discarded before reaching the consumer.1 In Sri Lanka, such wastage could be as high as 270,000 tonnes (Tn) each year, worth around Sri Lankan Rupees (LKR) 20 billion (Bn).2 The firm and juicy tomatoes we all want are living things that breathe, like most fresh fruits and vegetables. When they are crushed, bruised or pressured, the ripening process advances rapidly and the rotting begins, leading to heavy losses along the respective vegetable or fruit chains. Losses can also include crops left unharvested due to diseases and pests. Then those harvested tomatoes, lose value due to crushing and bruising from harsh handling during transport as well as at retail outlets/shops. These can also get damaged by pests and poor conditions during transit and storage.3 A previous audit has shown that tomatoes are more prone to higher post-harvest losses compared to most other vegetables grown in Sri Lanka, and is estimated to be as high as 40%. Hybrid seeds and greater efforts by farmers have helped Sri Lanka produce more tomatoes in recent years, while the cultivated land area remained unchanged. This has caused a surplus during the peak harvesting period, from 2014 to 2018.4 Still, Sri Lanka imports a significant quantity of tomatoes for food industry use. If we can reduce losses and utilise excess production for food processing, it could mean more income to farmers, traders and the Sri Lankan economy.