No tomatoes in your McDonald’s burger as prices soar to Rs 180 per kg

Customers at fast food restaurants may soon be missing an essential topping on their burger as chains like McDonald’s and Burger King will not be adding tomatoes to any of their bun-based offerings. The rationale behind this decision is the rocketing price of tomatoes across retail markets, with prices of the originally-South American vegetable hitting over Rs 180/kg in many places. 

No tomatoes between buns 

Various reports suggest that due to high prices of tomatoes and the otherwise low quality of the vegetable, a few fast food restaurants will be taking tomatoes off of their offering for the next few months. Both Burger King and McDonald’s receive their fresh produce, including tomatoes, from the same supplier. This supplier is  not providing any tomatoes to the Delhi region at the moment. 

A spokesperson for  McDonald's India - North and East said, “Due to seasonal crop issues arising out of farm fields in a few regions, there are not enough quantities meeting our quality specifications available. To ensure our customers get the best quality we are known to serve, we are constrained to hold tomatoes for the time being.  We reiterate that it is not due to the surge in the prices. It is only due to non-availability of tomatoes meeting our quality specifications. We would like to bring to your notice that restaurants mostly in Punjab-Chandigarh area where we are able to source adequate quantities, we continue to serve tomatoes in our menu.”

“Despite our best efforts, we are not able to get adequate quantities of tomatoes which pass our world-class stringent quality checks. Hence, for the time being, we are forced to serve you products without tomatoes,” reads a notice outside a McDonald’s outlet in New Delhi. 

Why are tomatoes so pricey?

The skyrocketing price of tomatoes can be blamed squarely on inclement weather. The heat wave that had gripped most of the country earlier in the year disrupted the growth of tomato crop in many regions, which resulted in reduced output of tomato crop. Heavy rains that have threatened fragile supply chains across the country have further exacerbated the supply-side situation. With tomatoes having a short shelf-life and stocks running out, prices are quickly getting out of hand. As a result, the prices of the staple food item have increased rapidly across states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and more. 

Tomato price spike: Not the first time 

Fast food chains have removed tomatoes from their menu in the past as well. They had cut out tomatoes from their menu in 2017 due to poor quality of the vegetable. McDonald’s and other fast food chains have also dropped tomatoes occasionally in certain regions depending on supply quality in the past.