How to get tomatoes at Rs 90/kg in Delhi-NCR from today. Details here

The National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India (NCCF) will start selling tomatoes at Rs 90 per kg in the Delhi NCR region via mobile vans today.

The government's decision to sell tomatoes at discounted rates came amid a sharp rise in prices across the country, reaching as much as Rs 224 per kg.


"NCCF will start selling tomatoes at a discounted rate of Rs 90/kg from tomorrow. A good quantity of supplies has been procured from the producing centres. The Centre is subsidising tomatoes by more than 30 per cent from the prevailing market rates to provide relief to the consumer," Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh told PTI on Thursday.

Elaborating on the retail operation, NCCF Managing Director Anice Joseph Chandra said, "We have fixed the price at Rs 90 per kg, while the procurement rate is Rs 120–130 per kg. The losses will be absorbed by the central government."

The Centre is subsidising tomatoes by more than 30 per cent from the prevailing market rates to provide relief to consumers, he said.

In Delhi, NCCF will start the sale on Friday morning at 11AM in all 11 districts through 30 mobile vans. About 17,000 kg of tomatoes will be sold on the first day. On Saturday, NCCF plans to sell about 20,000 kg of tomatoes, and the quantity will be increased to 40,000 per day as the sale picks up.

In Noida, the cooperative will sell tomatoes at a discounted rate at its office located in Rajnigandha Chowk. It will also be sold via mobile vans in Greater Noida and other locations.

The number of mobile vans will be increased starting Saturday to cover more locations. NCCF is also talking to Mother Dairy about the sale of tomatoes at discounted rates through their Safal retail outlets in the national capital.

Apart from NCCF, the Centre has also allowed NAFED to sell tomatoes at discounted rate. NAFED will also start the sale of tomatoes at discounted rates in other cities in the next 2–3 days.

The Central government on Wednesday decided to procure the tomatoes from mandis in key growing states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. These freshly procured tomatoes are to be dispatched for simultaneous distribution in major consumption centres where retail prices have recorded the maximum increase in the past month.

Tomatoes are produced almost in all the states in India, though in varying quantities. The southern and western regions of India account for 56–58 per cent of total tomato production in the country.

But the periods during July-August and October-November are generally the lean production months for tomato.

The government attributed the rise in prices to the monsoon season, saying that it added to further challenges related to distribution and increased transit losses.

However, prices are expected to stabilise in the near future as new crop arrivals are expected soon from Nashik district. Further, in August, additional supply is expected to come from the Narayangaon and Aurangabad belts. Madhya Pradesh arrivals are also expected to start, the government said.

(With agency inputs)