India to further slash price of discounted tomatoes, to sell at Rs 70 per kg from today

Noting a declining trend in prices, the Department of Consumer Affairs has asked the NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India) and NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) to sell tomatoes at a retail price of Rs 70 per kg from July 20, 2023.

The sale of discounted tomatoes at Rs 90 per kg had begun in Delhi-NCR on July 14, and the price was reduced to Rs 80 per kg from July 16 in a bid to control spiralling retail prices of the commodity. Till July 18, 391 million tonnes (MT) of tomatoes have been procured by NAFED and NCCF for discounted sale to retail consumers in major consumption centres of Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, where mobile vans selling tomatoes are trying to cover different parts of cities every day.

On July 17, NCCF's Chairman Vishal Singh told CNBC-TV18 that the government is already absorbing a loss of Rs. 50 per kg by selling tomatoes at Rs 80 per kg as tomatoes are being bought at over Rs 125 per kg and stocks are reaching Delhi with a cost price of Rs 130 per kg including the freight cost.