Image Source: Agencies

The soaring prices of tomatoes across the country have fired the imagination of the internet.

The retail price of tomatoes has soared above Rs 100 in several cities across the country, mainly adding to the damage caused by heavy rains and floods in southern India.

Retail prices of tomatoes have risen sharply in major cities of south India since the first week of November due to widespread moderate to heavy rains during the northeast monsoon when low-pressure areas often form over the Bay of Bengal—or cyclonic circulation in the Arabian Sea.

Heavy rains inundated many parts of the Krishnagiri district of Andhra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, where the crop is grown in large areas. In many parts of Andhra, the entire crop, or more than 80 percent of the crop is lost.