Following in the footsteps of other fast food corporations, Burger King’s Indian shops have removed tomatoes from their menu items due to rising vegetable prices following a poor crop.
“Even tomatoes need a vacation!” read a notice at an outlet in the capital New Delhi on Thursday.
“Due to unpredictable conditions on the quality and supply of tomato, we are unable to add tomatoes in our food… we are doing our best to get back tomatoes in our burgers.”
To address Hindu concerns to cattle slaughter, the burger franchise has been operating in India since 2014, replacing its typical range of beef burgers with a variety of chicken and vegetarian equivalents.
It is the most recent of several chains to discontinue serving the veggie.
According to local media, McDonald’s said in July that it will remove tomatoes from their menus as a temporary remedy owing to “seasonal issues.”
Subway, an American sandwich business, followed suit the same month, citing “quality issues.”
India’s central bank issued a warning last week that rising food costs had already had an impact on household budgets and were likely to get worse.
It also mentioned how pest infestations and unfavourable weather conditions in key tomato-producing regions had caused prices to skyrocket.
In order to relieve pressure on food prices, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government had lifted import restrictions on tomatoes from adjacent Nepal.
