As the escalating prices of tomatoes affect the culinary landscape in India, Burger King becomes the latest fast food chain grappling with this issue.
Just last month, McDonald’s (MCD) made headlines by announcing the temporary removal of tomatoes from many of its Indian restaurants due to quality concerns and supply shortages.
Now, Burger King’s Indian outlets find themselves “unable to add tomatoes” to their offerings. Assuring their patrons via a frequently-asked-questions section on their website, Burger King expressed that tomatoes would soon return, attributing their absence to “unpredictable conditions on the quality and supply of tomato crops.”
The scope of this tomato absence remains unclear, whether it applies to all outlets or a select few.
Burger King’s decision comes against the backdrop of India’s central bank revising its inflation forecast for the current financial year to 5.4% from the previously stated 5.1%, primarily due to escalating food prices in the nation with the world’s largest population.
The tomato scarcity is evident as Subway’s Indian branches recently announced an extra charge of 30 rupees ($0.40) for a slice of cheese in most sandwiches.
Tomatoes, an indispensable ingredient in Indian cuisine, are becoming increasingly elusive. Their prices have surged by over 400% in recent months due to crop failures stemming from severe heat waves and heavy rainfall. Though prices have moderated slightly in August, the cost of a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of tomatoes in India’s capital, New Delhi, has skyrocketed to 107 rupees ($1.29), a staggering increase from the 27 rupees ($0.33) recorded in January, as per data from the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Jocelyn Boiteau, a post-doctoral associate at the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition, attributes the exorbitant prices to climate change-induced extreme weather conditions. She highlights that only a few regions in India’s southern areas are conducive to growing tomatoes during the summer, meaning any climate-related disruptions in these zones can have a nationwide impact on tomato supply.
India has witnessed an unusual combination of excessive rainfall and scorching heatwaves this summer, underscoring its vulnerability to the repercussions of the climate crisis as one of the world’s most populous nations.
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