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Tomato Price Hike: The government expects tomato prices to come down in the next 15 days and return to normal levels in a month with increased supplies from growing centres. The price of this major vegetable used in every household has crossed Rs 100 per kg in many major cities.
Secretary in the Department of Consumer Affairs, Rohit Kumar Singh said on Friday (June 30) 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.
He said, ‘‘The phenomenon of increase in the price of tomato happens every year at this time. Every agricultural commodity in every country passes through a seasonality in the price cycle. Its prices have reached a high level in June. ’’
Why the production of tomato decreases?
Rohit Kumar Singh said that tomato is a perishable product. Tomato supply has also been disrupted due to weather and other reasons. He said that you cannot keep tomatoes for a long time. It cannot even be transported over long distances. This is a weakness in this food item.
Singh said that during June-August and October-November the production of tomato goes down and prices generally see a sharp increase during this period. 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. However he said, ‘‘I am not justifying this rate. This proves the seasonal problem. ’’
How much are the prices of tomatoes at which places?
Describing it as a complex problem, Singh said that the government is looking into it. Looking for solutions 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 primary processing, storage and pricing of tomato.
As per data from the Department of Consumer Affairs, the average retail price of tomato on an all-India basis is Rs 56.58 per kg as on June 30. The modal price is Rs 100 per kg while the maximum price is Rs 123 per kg.
The retail price of tomato in Delhi is Rs 80 per kg, 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.
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