Tomato Prices To Fall Further As Govt Cuts Subsidised Price

The Central government has issued directives to the cooperatives National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India (NCCF) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) to make tomatoes available for retail at a price of Rs 40 per kg starting from August 20, 2023.

This decision stems from the consistent drop in tomato prices across both wholesale and retail markets, as reported by the Department of Consumer Affairs.

It's worth noting that since July, NCCF and NAFED have been selling tomatoes at discounted rates in regions including Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar. This initiative was launched in response to a surge in prices of essential kitchen staples due to heavy rainfall and other weather-related challenges. The government instructed these cooperatives to procure tomatoes from producing states and distribute them at a subsidized cost.

Initially, the ministry mandated the cooperatives to offer tomatoes at a rate of Rs 90 per kg, which was subsequently lowered to Rs 50 per kg. The current price has now been further reduced to Rs 40 per kg.

On Friday, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution also informed that the retail sale of tomatoes in Delhi-NCR had commenced on July 14, 2023.

"As of now, more than 15 lakh kg of tomatoes have been procured by these two agencies and are being continuously supplied to retail consumers in major consumption centers across the country," the ministry stated.

According to a report from MoneyControl, there's an anticipation of a decrease in tomato prices by early September due to increased supply from regions like Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana.

Sanjay Gupta, the CEO of National Commodities Management Services Ltd (NCML), shared his forecast in the report, suggesting that prices could potentially reach Rs 30 per kg by mid-September as supply factors come into play. The report also noted a decline in the average price per quintal, from Rs 9,671 to Rs 9,195 between July 14 and August 14. Following a peak at Rs 250 per kg in mid-July, retail prices have now settled in the range of Rs 80 to 120 per kg across most cities, benefiting from fresh harvests in Maharashtra and Karnataka.