To Control Spiralling Tomato Prices, Centre Plans To Procure Them From…

New Delhi: 

As tomato rates in the country cross new milestones every day, hovering around the 100-rupee mark for weeks now, the central government today announced steps to check the kitchen staple’s price.

The Department of Consumer Affairs has asked National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation and National Cooperative Consumers Federation to procure tomatoes from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra and distribute them in areas that have recorded the biggest jump in tomato rates.

The fresh stocks, a government statement said, will be available to consumers in Delhi-NCR at discounted prices by Friday.

The centres where these fresh stocks will be released have been identified on the basis of absolute hike in retail prices over the past one month, the government said. The scale of consumption has also been considered in the process.

While tomato is produced in nearly every Indian state, the southern and western regions account for nearly 60 per cent of the country’s total production. Their surplus produce is then used to ensure continuous supply to other parts of India.

“The production seasons are also different across regions. The peak harvesting season occurs from December to February. The periods during July-August and October-November are generally the lean production months for tomato,” the statement said.