Indian woman expat in Dubai brings home 10kg tomatoes

Prices of tomatoes surged in recent weeks, soaring from an average of Rs 20 per kg to a staggering Rs 250 per kg in some parts of the country.

New Delhi:  To fulfil her mother’s wish, a Dubai expat has flown back to India with 10 kg of tomatoes in her suitcase packed in kitchen storage containers.

The woman who was coming home to India for holidays asked her mother what she wanted from Dubai, who said tomatoes in response, considered highly valuable these days in the country amid their surging prices.

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Sharing the anecdote, the expat’s sister, who goes by the name Revs on Twitter, wrote: “My sister is coming to India from Dubai for her children’s summer holidays, and she asked my mum if she wanted anything from Dubai and my mother said bring 10 kilos of tomatoes. And so now she has packed 10 kg tomatoes in a suitcase and sent it.

“Apparently she put it in big Pearlpet dabbas (boxes) and put the dabbas in a suitcase and brought them.”

With 53.2k views at present, the amusing story has gone viral on Twitter with many asking the user questions on storage and customs rules.

On being asked by another user about the shelf life of tomatoes, usually a week, Revs said the 10 kg package would be made into pickles and chutneys, among other things, adding that as a family, they use a “ridiculous amount” of tomatoes for consumption.

Twitter user Nayantara Bagla said: “Best daughter award might be going in that direction for these times of inflation,”

Another user pointed out that her sister was a “saint of a daughter”.

Tomato prices have risen in recent weeks, rising from an average of Rs 20 per kg to as much as Rs 250 per kg in parts of the country.

Customs officials recently released three tonnes of tomatoes that were being smuggled into India from Nepal.

Tomatoes cost around Rs 100 to Rs 110 in Nepali currency, which is Rs 62-69 in India.

According to reports, delayed monsoons, high temperatures, and low production might be behind the increase in prices of tomatoes recently.

Heavy rains have also contributed to the significant spike in prices.