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Informist, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024

 

NEW DELHI – Tomato prices in Delhi's retail markets are expected to come down in a week following the government's market intervention, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said Monday. She said this after flagging off vans of the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd selling tomatoes at INR 65 per kg.

 

"Prices are likely to cool off in three days or a week," Khare told reporters. "Prices should fall at least to INR 65 (per kg) or more." On Sunday, retail rates in Delhi were INR 73 a kg, up INR 46 from last year, according to the ministry. According to Khare, the government has been tracking tomato prices and decided to intervene when prices were hovering around INR 100 per kg.

 

The subsidised tomatoes will be available at 50 locations in the National Capital Region, Khare said. Later, the Centre may also start selling subsidised tomatoes in other metro cities, she added. Meanwhile, the sale of subsidised onions at INR 35 per kg continues, she added. 

 

Amid firm festival demand, tomato prices in the retail market have seen an "unwarranted" rise in recent weeks, the consumer affairs ministry said in a press release. The spike in prices has come despite the continuous arrival of good quantities of tomatoes in the markets, the release added.

 

According to Khare, there is no shortage of tomatoes in the domestic market as production has been good. However, excess rains and high humidity in major tomato growing state Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra have raised quality concerns and caused some supply chain disruptions, she added. 

 

"Traders are taking undue advantage of the festival demand, and we want to provide comfort to consumers during the festival," Khare told reporters. She stressed that INR 65 a kg is "reasonable" and the government sales of subsidised tomatoes aim to bust "undue profit-taking" by traders.  End

 

Reported by Afra Abubacker

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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