Cooperative NCCF to sell tomatoes via mobile vans in Delhi-NCR at Rs 90/kg: Government officials

The cooperative will start sales in other cities such as Lucknow, Kanpur and Jaipur during the weekend, they added.

To provide relief to consumers, the Central Government agencies will start selling tomatoes from Friday (July 14) in Delhi-NCR at a discounted rate of Rs 90/kg.

In other cities, the sale of tomatoes at discounted rates is expected to start by end of this week, said the official from the Union Ministry of Consumers Affairs.

National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India (NCCF) will start on Friday the sale of tomatoes via mobile vans in Delhi-NCR at a discounted rate of Rs 90/kg. In Noida, tomatoes will be sold at the NCCF office at Rajnigandha Chowk and also through mobile vans in Greater Noida and other locations, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said here.

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The first truck-load of tomatoes from the major producing centre of Madanapalli, Andhra Pradesh arrived in Delhi.

NCCF will start the sale in other cities such as Lucknow, Kanpur and Jaipur during the weekend, he said.

Other agency, NAFED will also start the sale of tomatoes at discounted rates in other cities in the next 2-3 days, the consumer affairs secretary said.

Sizable 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 consumers, Singh said.

The Ministry is also in talks with various state government outlets to sell the farm produce at discounted rates.

Cooperative NCCF and NAFED have received a mandate from the central government to sell tomatoes as there has been a sharp rise in the retail prices of the key kitchen staple up to Rs 224 per kg in several parts of the country.

"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," NCCF Managing Director Anice Joseph Chandra said separately.

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, she said. 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, she added.

As per the government data, the average all-India retail price of tomatoes was ruling at Rs 114.72 per kg on Thursday, while the maximum rate was Rs 224 per kg and the minimum was Rs 40 per kg.

The cycle of planting and harvesting seasons and variation across regions are primarily responsible for price seasonality in tomatoes, the Consumers Affairs Ministry said on Wednesday.

Apart from the normal price seasonality, the ministry said temporary supply chain disruptions and crop damage due to adverse weather conditions often lead to sudden spikes in prices, the Ministry said.