Govt reduces subsidised rate of tomato to Rs 80/kg with immediate effect in Delhi-NCR, other locations

The Centre will sell tomatoes at Rs 80 per kg from Sunday, as against Rs 90 per kg earlier, to provide relief to people from high prices.

The government decided to slash the prices after a reduction in rates in the wholesale market, following the Central agencies selling tomatoes at a discount since Friday.

The National Cooperative Consumers' Federation (NCCF) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED), who have been entrusted with the task of selling tomatoes through vans have been doing so in Delhi-NCR, cities in Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.

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NCCF Managing Director Anice Joseph Chandra said tomatoes are being procured from Madanapalli (Andhra Pradesh), Kolar (Karnataka) and Sanganeri (Maharashtra). NCCF has already sold 35,000 kg of tomatoes in the last two days. It expects to sell 20,000 kg in Delhi-NCR on Sunday, 15,000 kg in Varanasi, and 10,000 kg each in Lucknow and Kanpur, she said.

"There has been a decrease in the wholesale prices of tomatoes due to the intervention of the government to sell it at a concessional rate of Rs 90 per kg, at several locations in the country where the prices were ruling exceptionally high," an official statement from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs said separately.

After a re-assessment of the situation from across 500 plus points in the country, it has been decided to sell it at Rs 80 per kg from today (Sunday, July 16, 2023)," it added.

Sales started on Sunday at several points in Delhi, Noida, Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Patna, Muzaffarpur and Arrah through cooperatives NAFED and NCCF, the statement said.

The sale of tomatoes at discounted prices will be expanded to more cities from Monday depending upon the prevailing market prices at such locations.

Further reduction in the price to Rs 80 per kg will further cool down the prices in the coming days. We will continue to intervene till the price stabilizes, Chandra said.

Prices of tomatoes in retail markets on Saturday remained at an elevated level of up to Rs 250 per kg across major cities due to monsoon rains and lean season.

The all-India average price stood at nearly Rs 117 per kg, according to government data.

With the all-India average retail price of tomato crossing more than Rs 270 per kg, the Centre swung into action on Wednesday and directed the NAFED and NCCF to immediately procure tomatoes from mandis in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra for simultaneous distribution in major consumption centres where retail prices have recorded maximum increase in the last one month.

The cycle of planting and harvesting seasons and variation across regions is primarily responsible for price seasonality in tomatoes, the Consumers Affairs Ministry said.

Apart from the normal price seasonality, the ministry said temporary supply chain disruptions and crop damage due to adverse weather conditions often lead to sudden spikes in prices, the ministry said.