Centre decides to reduce the subsidized price of tomatoes | Fusion - WeRIndia

To provide relief to consumers grappling with high tomato prices, the Centre has announced a reduction in rates.

Starting from Sunday, tomatoes will be sold at ₹80 per kg, down from the earlier price of ₹90 per kg in retail markets.

To facilitate this, the government initiated the sale of tomatoes at a discounted rate of ₹90 per kg in Delhi-NCR through mobile vans on Friday and expanded to more cities on Saturday.

This move comes after the government intervened to sell tomatoes at concessional rates due to exceptionally high prices observed across the country.

Following a comprehensive assessment of the situation at over 500 locations, the decision was made to further lower the price to ₹80 per kg, effective from Sunday, July 16th, 2023.

The sale of tomatoes at reduced rates commenced in various cities, including Delhi, Noida, Lucknow and many more, through cooperatives NAFED and NCCF.

The government’s objective is to alleviate the burden on consumers, and therefore, the sale of tomatoes at discounted prices will be extended to additional cities from today, depending on the prevailing market conditions.

The National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) are facilitating the sale of tomatoes on behalf of the Centre using mobile vans.

Currently, retail prices of tomatoes remain elevated, reaching up to ₹250 per kg in major cities due to factors such as monsoon rains and the lean season.

The government reported an all-India average price of nearly ₹117 per kg on Saturday.

The Department of Consumer Affairs compiled data indicating that the average retail price across India was ₹116.86 per kg. The maximum rate is ₹250 per kg and the minimum is ₹25 per kg.

Among metros, Delhi recorded the highest price at ₹178 per kg. The price is ₹150 per kg in Mumbai and ₹132 per kg in Chennai. Notably, Hapur witnessed a maximum price of ₹250 per kg.

Tomato prices typically surge during lean production months, such as July-August and October-November, with the current increase attributed to disruptions in supply caused by the monsoon.

NCCF procures tomatoes from Madanapalli in Andhra Pradesh, Kolar in Karnataka, and Sanganeri in Maharashtra.

The reduction in prices to ₹80 per kg is expected to further stabilize the market in the coming days.

NCCF plans to continue its interventions until prices normalize.

Currently, tomatoes are being sold through mobile vans and NAFED-owned outlets in Delhi-NCR, with sales set to begin via Kendriya Bhandar retail outlets from Sunday.

Image Credit: Pluma, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Image Reference: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cherry_tomatoes.jpg