New Delhi: Relief news has come for the public troubled by the price of tomatoes. The government expects tomato prices to come down in the next 15 days with increased supplies from growing centers and return to normal levels in a month. The price of this major vegetable used in every household has crossed Rs 100 per kg in many major cities.
Rohit Kumar Singh, secretary in the Department of consumer affairs, told a media briefing on Friday that the retail prices of tomatoes in the national capital would come down immediately on better supplies from Himachal Pradesh’s Solan and Sirmaur districts.
Every year the prices increase in this month
He said, “The phenomenon of an increase in the price of tomatoes happens every year at this time. Every agricultural commodity in every country passes through a seasonality in the price cycle. Its prices reached a high level in June. ”He said that tomato is a perishable product and the supply of tomatoes has also been disrupted due to weather and other reasons.
The secretary further said, “You cannot keep tomatoes for long and they cannot be transported over long distances. This is a weakness in this food item.” He said that during June-August and October-November the production of tomatoes goes down and prices generally see a sharp increase during this period.
The government is working on better supply
He said that the all-India average retail price of tomato on June 29 was Rs 49 per kg, while it was Rs 51.50 per kg on the same day a year ago. Although he said, “I am not justifying this rate. This proves the problem of seasonality. ”Describing it as a complex problem, the secretary said that the government is looking into it and finding a solution to streamline its supply throughout the year.
For this, Grand Tomato Challenge has been started on Friday. It is like a hackathon where ideas are being invited from students to industry stakeholders on the primary processing, storage, and pricing of tomatoes.
According to data from the Department of Consumer Affairs, the average retail price of tomato on an all-India basis is Rs 56.58 per kg on June 30. The modal price is Rs 100 per kg while the maximum price is Rs 123 per kg. The retail price of tomatoes is Rs 80 per kg in Delhi, Mumbai (Rs 48 per kg), Kolkata (Rs 105 per kg), and Chennai (Rs 88 per kg).
Apart from this, tomato prices were Rs 54 per kg in Bengaluru, Rs 100 per kg in Bhopal and Lucknow, Rs 80 per kg in Shimla, Rs 98 per kg in Bhubaneswar and Rs 99 per kg in Raipur.
