As Tomato Prices Soar, Centre Steps In With Subsidised Vans

On Monday, the Centre began offering tomatoes at a subsidized rate of Rs 65 per kg in the national capital to alleviate the burden on consumers and curb excessive profits made by intermediaries. Currently, tomatoes are being sold at an average price of Rs 90 per kg in the city. Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare launched the initiative by flagging off vans from the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) that are selling tomatoes at the reduced price of Rs 65 per kg.

"We are trying to moderate the prices of tomatoes. With this market intervention, in the next 3-4 days prices of tomatoes will come down," Khare told reporters here.

NCCF has initiated a market intervention by directly procuring tomatoes from mandis and selling them at a subsidised rate of Rs 65 per kg. Mobile vans would sell tomatoes at 50 colonies in the national capital. The intervention is to protect consumers from the recent increase in tomato prices and prevent windfall gains for intermediaries, according to a statement.

"The retail price of tomatoes has seen unwarranted increase in recent weeks despite continuous arrival in mandis in good quantities. 

Rains and high humidity due to prolonged monsoon in major producing states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra are reported to have led to quality concerns in recent weeks," the Department of Consumer Affairs said.

The statement mentioned that the role of market intermediaries in the recent price surge during the high-demand festive season cannot be overlooked. Additionally, the NCCF is consistently supplying onions from the government buffer at Rs 35 per kg to retail consumers in major cities across the country.

Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare noted that the department is importing pulses from Myanmar and chickpeas from Australia to manage supply. In the national capital, the average price of potatoes stands at Rs 40 per kg, while onions are priced at Rs 58 per kg. According to government data, as of Monday, the all-India average price for potatoes is Rs 36.89 per kg, onions Rs 54.36 per kg, and tomatoes Rs 64.72 per kg.