Tomatoes to be sold at discounted rates in Delhi-NCR

If you're living in Delhi-NCR, here's some good news for you. You will be able to buy tomatoes at discounted rates by the end of this week. This is thanks to a new procurement plan that has been implemented by the centre.

With skyrocketing tomato prices, the Centre has instructed the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation and the National Cooperative Consumers Federation, to purchase tomatoes from mandis in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, for distribution at reduced prices through retail outlets by the end of this week in Delhi NCR.

To ensure that the tomatoes are supplied to the areas most impacted by price increases, areas which have seen the highest month-on-month rise in prices have been selected. The selection method has prioritised centres where the going rates are higher than the national average, taking into account the absolute rise in price.

Wholesale markets sell tomatoes for ₹160 per kg, whereas retail costs are often between ₹180 and ₹200 per kg in the country. Meanwhile, tomatoes are being sold at ₹140 per kg in the national capital

Meanwhile, the Centre has assured that, with the arrival of fresh agricultural supplies from the Maharashtra district of Nashik, prices will come down soon.

Tomato prices have been high for several weeks now. The price increases can be attributed to adverse weather conditions in the growing areas. Heavy rainfall and hotter-than-normal temperatures last month severely affected tomato production, resulting in a fivefold increase in prices compared to previous years. While tomato prices typically rise during the lean production months of June and July, the situation this year has been exacerbated.