In light of the continuous fall in tomato prices in the wholesale and retail sectors, the Department of Consumer Affairs has directed the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India (NCCF) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) to sell tomatoes at a retail price of Rs 40 per kg from Sunday, August 20.

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Initially, the retail price of tomatoes procured by NCCF and NAFED had been fixed at Rs 90 per kg, but it was gradually cut to comply with price declines and to pass on the benefits of the fall in the price of the staple vegetable directly to the end consumer.

The retail price was last reduced to Rs 50 per kg on August 15, 2023, and, as per the latest directive issued by the ministry, the price of tomatoes will be further cut to Rs 40 per kg as of August 20, 2023.

On the direction of the Department of Consumer Affairs, NCCF and NAFED had begun procuring tomatoes from markets in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. This was done to facilitate concurrent distribution in major consumption centers, where retail prices had increased to over Rs 250 per kilogram in the last month.

The retail sale of tomatoes in Delhi-NCR by NCCF and NAFED began on July 14 at a subsidised price of Rs 90 per kg, which was reduced to Rs 80 per kg on July 16 and then to Rs 70 per kg on July 20. To date, the two organizations have acquired approximately 15 lakh kg of tomatoes, as per the official information.

In the last 15 days in the month of July, NCCF sold 560 tonnes of tomatoes in the states of Delhi, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, and the discounted sale still continues. However, retail prices of tomato remain high in major producing areas due to heavy rains and inclement weather.

These tomatoes are being continually distributed to retail consumers in major consumption centers across the country like Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), Kota and Jaipur in Rajasthan; Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, and Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh; and Patna, Muzaffarpur, Arrah, and Buxar in Bihar. The rises in tomato prices has not just affected the budget of the kitchens and households across the country, but it has also led to the staple vegetable vanishing from popular food items of fast-food chains.  

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