Tomato to be sold at Rs 50 per kg by NCCF, NAFED

The government on Monday directed cooperatives NCCF and NAFED to sell tomatoes at Rs 50 per kilogram, effective August 15. The move, to reduce the price from Rs 70 to Rs 50 per kilogram, was in view of easing prices of the crop in wholesale markets and set to benefit the consumer.

In the National Capital Region (NCR), the retail sale of tomatoes commenced on July 14, and till August 13, a total of 15 lakh kilograms of the crop was procured by the two agencies, according to an official statement.

The stock is being continuously directed towards the retail consumers in major consumption centres in the country, located in the NCR, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Initially, a retail price of Rs 90 per kilogram was fixed for tomatoes procured by NCCF and NAFED. With effect from July 16, the price was reduced to Rs 80 per kilogram, and to Rs 70 per kilogram from July 20. 

NCCF has substantially increased the quantity of tomatoes supplied to the retail consumer over the past few days, by stationing its mobile vans across 70 locations across New Delhi, and 15 locations in Noida and Greater Noida. NCCF is also continuously carrying out the retail sale of tomato through the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform.

Earlier, the consumer affairs department had directed NCCF and NAFED to procure tomatoes from the mandis in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra for simultaneous disposal in major consumption centres where retail prices had risen the most in the past month.