Relief for common man as government slashes tomato prices further to Rs 70 per kg
New Delhi : On Wednesday, the central government instructed NAFED and NCCF to further decrease the price of tomatoes from Rs 80 per kg to Rs 70 per kg. The government's announcement mentioned that consumers can now purchase tomatoes at the revised rate from Thursday onwards. Earlier, the tomatoes procured by NCCF and NAFED were being sold at Rs 90 per kg initially, which was later reduced to Rs 80 per kg on July 16, 2023, and now to Rs 70 per kg.
The decision to reduce tomato prices comes in response to a significant surge in tomato prices nationwide. To tackle this issue, NCCF and NAFED began procuring tomatoes from mandis in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. The aim was to distribute them to major consumption centers where retail prices had experienced the most substantial increase in the last month.
"The retail sale of tomatoes in Delhi-NCR had started from 14th July, 2023. Till 18th July, 2023 a total of 391 MT of tomato had been procured by the two agencies which are being continuously disposed of to the retail consumers in major consumption centres of Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, UP and Bihar," said the government release today.
Tomato prices have surged significantly throughout the nation, affecting various regions without any geographical limitations. In major cities, the prices soared to as high as Rs 150-200 per kg. The months of July-August and October-November are typically considered lean production periods for tomatoes.
India produces tomatoes in almost all states, albeit in different quantities. The southern and western regions contribute to a substantial portion, accounting for 56-58 per cent of the country's total tomato production.
