Ten Pesos per Kilo Tomatoes!!!

There were some recent posts on social media showing perfectly good, but unsold tomatoes just being thrown away in the countryside.

It’s such a waste!

Sadly, there are either no processing facilities nor processing know-how to use up these tomatoes. The reason these tomatoes are being thrown away is, I was told, because of transportation issues. Apparently, it’s cheaper to just throw the tomatoes away than to hire a truck and get them to market. I don’t understand the logistics, but that’s what they said.

I came across this group called Rural Rising Philippines on Facebook. They organize transport of the produce from the farmers to buyers in Manila, and the produce are sold cheaply. I saw them post for buyers who want to get 50-60kgs of tomatoes for P499! Yes, that’s P499 for 50kgs of tomatoes!

Since I would rather much enjoy the tomatoes than see them thrown away, I placed an order. I filled up the online form, got an invoice by email, paid online, and received instructions on when & where I can pick up my tomatoes.

The total amount was P749. The additional P250 was for the trucking fee of P5/kg. So all in all, the tomatoes cost P15/kg. It’s still pretty cheap.

I placed my order on Monday and my pickup schedule is today, Friday. I guess pick up depends on when the tomatoes arrive in Manila. Pick up is at Maayusin St., near the Maginhawa St. area in Quezon City (they will send the address after payment). You can also have the tomatoes delivered to you via Grab, Lalamove, etc…

So I picked up my tomatoes this afternoon. Make sure to bring ID! I don’t know why they still needed to take a photo of my ID just to pick up my tomatoes… ?‍♀️ anyway, they also sold pineapple (20kgs), Indian mangoes, calabasa, carrots, lettuce, etc… I saw a sign for tomatoes, and they were selling for P25/kg — I guess it’s cheaper to pre-buy on Facebook where it’s only sold at P499 for 50kg.

I was worried if 50kgs would fit in the car. If you’re wondering how big 50kgs of tomatoes look like, it’s about 2 large suitcases.

I wasn’t able to check the tomatoes since the boxes were already sealed. On the way home, I stopped at relatives’ and friends’ houses to drop off some tomatoes. I only opened one box and I was surprised at the beautiful red tomatoes!

After arriving home, I opened the second box and was a bit disappointed to see the smaller, greener tomatoes. The tomatoes were dirt cheap, so I’m not complaining. I am just rationalizing that the greener tomatoes will last longer. I don’t know if they are the same variety. I have no idea if they were harvested too young or if that’s just their natural size. Anyway, I think maybe I can use them like a tomatillo, or make Fried Green Tomatoes 😀

I kept what we needed and gave the rest of the tomatoes away to relatives, friends, neighbors, staff, and the barangay frontliners.

I guess we will be eating tomatoes at every meal for the next week 😀

Would I order again? Yes, once we use up what we have. I am happy to have kept these tomatoes from being thrown away, I am happy to have helped the farmers in some way, and also, the price is amazing!