New Delhi: The people of Delhi-NCR are going to get relief from today due to the rising prices of tomatoes (Tomato Price Today). New Delhi: In a bid to provide relief to consumers reeling under rising tomato prices, the National Cooperative Consumer Federation of India (NCCF) will start selling tomatoes through mobile vans at a subsidised rate of Rs 90 per kg in Delhi-NCR from Friday. Top government officials gave this information. Tomatoes will be sold through mobile vans at the NCCF office at Rajnigandha Chowk in Noida and in Greater Noida and other places, he said.
The cooperative will start selling in other cities like Lucknow, Kanpur and Jaipur during the weekend, he said. Cooperatives NCCF and NAFED have received instructions from the central government to sell tomatoes as the retail price of the key vegetable has shot up to Rs 224 per kg in many parts of the country. Speaking to PTI, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said, “NCCF will start selling tomatoes at a subsidised rate of Rs 90 per kg from tomorrow. A good quantity of tomatoes has been procured from the producing centres,” he said.
He said the Centre is giving subsidy of more than 30 per cent over the current market rate on tomatoes to provide relief to consumers. Elaborating on retail operations, NCCF Managing Director A. Joseph Chandra said, “We have fixed the price at Rs 90 per kg, while the procurement rate is Rs 120-130 per kg. This deficit will be borne by the central government.”
In Delhi, NCCF will start selling through 30 mobile vans in all 11 districts at 11 am on Friday. Around 17,000 kg of tomatoes will be sold on the first day, he said. “On Saturday, NCCF plans to sell around 20,000 kg of tomatoes and the quantity will be increased to 40,000 kg per day as sales increase,” he said. “Mobile vans will be sent wherever access is possible,” Joseph Chandra said amid floods in parts of Delhi. The number of mobile vans will be increased based on the reach and response.”
Once the water level recedes at some places, the NCCF will review the situation and start selling tomatoes, he said. In Noida, the cooperative will sell tomatoes at a subsidised rate at its office at Rajnigandha Chowk, he said. The number of mobile vans will be increased from Saturday to reach more places. He said the NCCF is also talking to Mother Dairy in the national capital about selling tomatoes at subsidised rates through its Safal retail outlets. The first batch of tomato-laden trucks from Madanapalli, a major growing hub of Andhra Pradesh, is scheduled to arrive at night, he said.
Nafed will also start selling tomatoes at subsidised rates in other cities in the next 2-3 days, the consumer affairs secretary said. According to government data, the average all-India retail price of tomato was Rs 114.72 per kg on Thursday, while the maximum rate was Rs 224 per kg and the minimum rate was Rs 40 per kg. Tomato was priced at Rs 168 per kg in Delhi on Thursday. It was followed by Mumbai at Rs 160 per kg, Kolkata at Rs 143 per kg and Chennai at Rs 132 per kg. Tomato prices usually rise during the July-August and October-November periods, which are generally low production months. The disruption in supply due to monsoon has also led to a sharp increase in rates.
