Karnataka, Andhra tomatoes to cut prices in Delhi, other cities

It will be available in discounted rates in cities, including Patna, Varanasi, Kanpur and Kolkata.

With the prices of tomatoes soaring at over Rs 200 per kilogram in some parts of the country, the Centre has decided to start selling the products at discounted rates to consumers from Friday.

According to Consumer Affairs Ministry, the government wanted to sell the farm produce at 30 per cent discounted rates in retail markets in Delhi and other cities where prices were high.

This is for the first time the central agencies selling the tomato to retail consumers though earlier they sold onion and pulses at discounted price. Since tomato was highly perishable, the agencies face tough challenges in its procurement and distribution.

The sale of tomatoes will be undertaken by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF), said the Ministry.

Tomatoes will be sold at discounted rates in Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region), Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. It will be available in cities, including Patna, Varanasi, Kanpur and Kolkata, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said here.

To give relief to consumers, tomatoes would be sold at least 30 per cent lower than the prevailing market rate on that given day, he said.

The government is expecting that the selling products at discounted rate would help to check high prices. The Ministry planning to sell discounted tomatoes till the prices cool down may be till first week of next month, said the official.

Both NAFED and NCCF will procure the perishable commodity from key producing centres of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, and sell it in major consumption centres, where retail prices have recorded maximum increase in the last one month, the ministry said in a statement.

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In Delhi-NCR, NCCF will sell tomatoes through its own outlets, mobile vans, Mother Dairy's Safal and Kendriya Bhandar outlets. In other cities, both NAFED and NCCF will sell the kitchen staple at discounted rates through their own outlets or will have local tie up for the same, Singh said.

The ministry said the centres for release of tomatoes have been identified on the basis of absolute increase in retail prices over the past one month where the prevailing prices are above the all-India average. Key consumption centres in states having higher concentration of the identified centres will be further selected for the intervention, it said.

Officials in the Food Ministry insisted that there will not be much price jack up when the central agencies go to growing regions procure the products since sizable quantity farm produce available there . Currently, the high price for tomatoes mainly due to disruption in procurement, transport and distribution due to monsoon, said the officials.

As per the ministry's data, average all-India retail price of tomato was Rs 111.71 per kg on Wednesday.

The maximum increase in retail price was Rs 203 per kg in Bathinda, Punjab while the minimum rate was Rs 34 per kg in Bidar in Karnataka. Among the metros, retail price of tomato quoted highest in Delhi at Rs 150 per kg, followed by Mumbai at Rs 137 per kg.

Tomato prices normally come under pressure during July-August and October-November period, which are generally the lean production months. Supply disruption caused due to monsoon has led to further spike in the rates.

"July coinciding with the monsoon season, adds to challenges related to distribution and increased transit losses adding to price rise," the ministry said.

Currently, the supplies coming to markets in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and some other states are mostly from Maharashtra, especially Satara, Narayangaon, and Nashik, which is expected to last till this month-end, it said.

Madanapalle (Chittoor) in Andhra Pradesh also has arrivals in reasonable quantities. The arrivals in Delhi-NCR are mainly from Himachal Pradesh and some quantity comes from Kolar in Karnataka, it added.

The ministry said the new crop arrivals are expected soon from the Nashik district.

In August, additional supply is expected to come from the Narayangaon and Aurangabad belt. Arrivals from Madhya Pradesh are also expected to start. "Prices are anticipated to cool down in the near future, accordingly," the ministry said.

Tomato is produced almost in all the states in varying quantities. Maximum production is in Southern and Western regions of India, contributing 56-58 per cent of all-India production. Southern and Western regions being surplus states, feed to other markets depending on production seasons. The peak harvesting season occurs from December to February, the Ministry said.

The cycle of planting and harvesting seasons and variation across regions are primarily responsible for price seasonality in tomatoes, the ministry said.

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.

In an exclusive statement to DH, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he welcomed the Centre's directions to NAFED and NCCF to procure tomatoes from Karnataka. "The Centre has given directions since the tomato price has hit Rs 105 per kilo. We will never do dirty politics when it comes to food. Karnataka is the land of Basavanna which upholds the 'Dasoha' culture. I will discuss with officials on ensuring supply of tomatoes without it hurting local supply," Siddaramaiah said.

"Karnataka had sought to buy additional rice at 34 per kg in the interest of give rice to the poor and middleclass population. The Centre posed hurdle to the state's Anna Bhagya scheme. It later tried to sell rice to private players through e-auction and there have been no takers. However, Karnataka will not behave in a similar manner. We will respond positively," he said.