New Delhi [India], July 14 : In a big relief to consumers, the National Consumer Cooperative Federation (NCCF) started selling tomatoes at a subsidised rate of Rs 90 per kg in Delhi-NCR on Friday.
NCCF chairman Vishal Singh said that the tomatoes are of export quality and are exported from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
“The government has issued a notice to sell tomatoes at subsidised rates in five states. We have been given three states Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi,” he said.
He further said that the sale had begun in Delhi today. From Saturday onwards NCCF will start selling tomato in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Additionally, NCCF is in talks with Safal and Kendriya Bhandar for retail sales in their stores, he said.
Amid a sharp spurt in tomato prices across the country, the Central government on Wednesday directed its agricultural marketing agencies — NAFED and NCCF — to immediately procure the staple vegetable from mandis in key growing states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra.
The sharp rise in tomato prices has been reported across the country, and is not just limited to a particular region or geography. In key cities, it rose to as high as Rs 150-160 per kg.
The periods during July-August and October-November are generally the lean production months for tomato.
The rise in tomato and other vegetable prices was reflected in the June retail inflation data.
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