Tomato prices soared to Rs 250 per kg in major cities on Saturday due to monsoon rains and deficient weather conditions, PTI reported. As per government data, the all-India average price is around Rs 117 per kg, it said. Meanwhile, to provide relief from the rising prices of an essential food item, the Centre has started selling tomatoes at a subsidised rate of Rs 90 per kg in select cities like Delhi-NCR, Patna and Lucknow. According to PTI, about 18,000 kg was sold through mobile vans in Delhi-NCR on Saturday.
The National Cooperative Consumer Federation of India (NCCF) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) are selling tomatoes through mobile vans on behalf of the Centre. Union Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh tweeted, “Apart from various parts of Delhi and Noida, sale of tomatoes at subsidised rates in Lucknow, Patna and Muzaffarpur started today. ”
Around 18,000 kg of tomatoes were sold to retail consumers in Delhi-NCR, the Department of Consumer Affairs said in a statement.
“It seems to have had an impact as today the price of Azadpur Mandi (wholesale) fell drastically and the retail price dropped marginally,” it said. “We started selling in Lucknow today and 7,000 kg was sold. Tomorrow, we will also intervene in the retail market in Kanpur while continuing to intervene in Delhi and Lucknow. ”
The NCCF plans to sell tomatoes through around 100 Kendriya Bhandar shops in the national capital from Sunday. It is in talks with Mother Dairy to sell tomatoes through its 400 Safal retail outlets in Delhi-NCR.
According to data compiled by the Department of Consumer Affairs, the average all-India retail price of tomato was Rs 116.86 per kg on Saturday, while the maximum rate was Rs 250 per kg and the minimum rate was Rs 25 per kg. The model price of tomato is Rs 100 per kg, PTI reported
According to the report, among metros, tomato prices were Rs 178 per kg in Delhi, followed by Rs 150 per kg in Mumbai and Rs 132 per kg in Chennai. The highest price was in Hapur at Rs 250 per kg.
In particular, tomato prices usually rise during the July-August and October-November periods, which are generally low production months. The supply was disrupted due to the monsoon, which has led to a sharp increase in rates.
