After high supply from Maharashtra
On July 21 the government said, retail prices of tomatoes are expected to fall with a higher supply of new crops from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
In several parts of the country the retail prices have shot up to ₹200-250 per kilogram after the supply chain got disrupted due to monsoon rains and other issues.
In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ashwini Kumar Choubey said, "Prices of tomato are expected to come down with the increase in the arrival of new crop from Nashik, Naryangaon and Aurangabad belt in Maharashtra and also from Madhya Pradesh."
He said the "current increase in tomato prices may incentivize farmers to grow more tomato crop which is expected to stabilize the prices in coming months".
On July 18, the average retail price in Delhi declined to ₹130 per kg and to ₹127.70 per kg in Punjab.
The government has started their procurement under Price Stabilization Fund in order to check the prices of tomatoes and make them affordable and is making them available at a highly subsidised rate to consumers.
The National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) are continuously procuring tomatoes from 'Mandis' in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra, and making them available at affordable prices in major consuming centers in Delhi-NCR, Bihar and Rajasthan, among other places.
Tomatoes were initially sold at a retail price of ₹90 per kg which was reduced to ₹80 per kg from July 16 and further cut to ₹70 per kg from July 20.
Till July 18, a total of 391 tons of tomatoes had been procured for continuous retail disposal in major consumption centers for the benefit of consumers.
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