Tomato Price Hike: 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, Department of Consumer Affairs, 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 tomatoes 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 does the production of tomato decrease?
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. ,
Where are the prices of tomatoes?
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.
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 tomato 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.
