After the skyrocketing rates of tomatoes in the country, the Centre has now procured fresh tomatoes at discounted prices. According to the government agency National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India (NCCF), freshly procured tomatoes will be sold at discounted prices in the retail market.As per the consumer affairs department, the tomatoes will now be sold at the price of ₹90 per kg.The Central government on Wednesday directed its agricultural marketing agencies NAFED and NCCF to immediately procure tomatoes from mandis in key growing states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, as the prices of the tomatoes are seeing continuous rise.सस्ते दामों पर मिलेगा उपभोक्ताओं को टमाटर।📖 https://t.co/MGAcdNRPto pic.twitter.com/7egYujpx8W— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) July 12, 2023The sharp rise was seen across the country, it was not limited to a particular region. In the key cities, the prices rose to as high as ₹150 or more.The Food Ministry informed that “Southern and Western regions being surplus states, feed to other markets depending on production seasons. The production seasons are also different across regions. The peak harvesting season occurs from December to February.”“The cycle of planting and harvesting seasons and variation across regions are primarily responsible for price seasonality in tomatoes. Apart from the normal price seasonality, temporary supply chain disruptions, and crop damage due to adverse weather conditions, etc. often lead to sudden spikes in prices,” it added.The officials informed that the current arrivals of fresh tomatoes in Delhi NCR are mainly from Himachal Pradesh and some quantity comes from Kolar in Karnataka.According to the information, new crop supplies are expected from Nashik soon. Further, in August, additional supply is expected to come from Narayangaon and Aurangabad belt. Madhya Pradesh arrivals are also expected to start, the government said.
