Tomatoes on sale: Big relief to the people of Uttar Pradesh as the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) on behalf of the Central Government will sell tomatoes at the subsidised rate on August 17.
NCCF is undertaking imports as well as domestic procurement of tomatoes on behalf of the central government and retailing them at a subsidised rate to give relief to consumers from the high prices of the kitchen staple. The retail intervention is being undertaken on direction from the Union Consumer Affairs Ministry.
Tomatoes to be sold at Rs 50/kg
NCCF on Wednesday said approximately around 5 tonnes of tomatoes imported from Nepal are currently in transit and will be made available for sale in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday at a subsidized rate of Rs 50 per kilogram. NCCF had arranged for the import of 10 tonnes of tomatoes from Nepal.
Speaking to the news agency PTI, NCCF Managing Director Anice Joseph Chandra said, "We have contracted 10 tonnes of tomato imports from Nepal. Out of this, 3-4 tonne was distributed yesterday in Uttar Pradesh. About 5 tonnes is in transit and will be retailed tomorrow in UP at subsidised rates."
In Uttar Pradesh, both imported and locally-procured tomatoes are being made available for purchase through fixed outlets and mobile vans stationed at specific locations.
She further said that the imported tomatoes cannot be sold in other parts of India because of the short shelf life. NCCF Managing Director said that in tomatoes procured from key producing states in the country are being sold at a subsidised rate of Rs 50 per kg in Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan.
New tomato crops arriving in wholesale mandis
Asked about further import of tomatoes from Nepal, Joseph Chandra said, "The imports will be undertaken from Nepal in a calibrated manner as domestic arrivals have started hitting to mandis in some states."
She said that arrival of the new tomato crop in Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh has started in wholesale mandis and prices are also coming down.
As per the government data, the all-India average wholesale price of tomatoes came down to Rs 88.22 per kg on August 15, when compared with Rs 97.56 per kg a month ago. Similarly, the all-India average retail price of tomatoes came down to Rs 107.87 per kg now from Rs 118.7 per kg a month ago, the data showed.
Tomato prices were high due to heavy rainfall
Earlier on Monday, the government directed the NCCF and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) to sell tomatoes at a retail price of Rs 50 per kilogram starting from August 15. This measure is aimed to make tomatoes more affordable and accessible for the general public.
Initially, the retail price of tomatoes procured by NCCF and NAFED was fixed at Rs.90 per kg and later reduced to Rs.80 per kg from July 16 and then further to Rs 70 per kg from July 20. The latest reduction to Rs.50 per kg will further benefit the consumers.
Tomato prices have been under pressure for more than a month now on account of supply disruptions caused due to heavy rainfall in the key producing regions.
(With PTI inputs)
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