India imports tomato from Nepal, prices ease
Tomatoes are now retailing at an average price of ₹100, down from a peak of ₹250 a kg a month ago.
New Delhi: India has imported unspecified quantities of tomatoes from Nepal to boost supplies of the vegetable, an official has said, amid a decline in prices. The widely consumed vegetable however still remains pricey for most Indians.
Tomatoes from the Himalayan kingdom — which are still in transit — will be used to boost availability in north Indian states, especially Uttar Pradesh, one of the largest consuming states in the country, the official said. The government has further reduced the retail price of subsidised sales, which now stands at ₹50 a kg.
Retail prices of tomato have declined on the back of lower wholesale prices, as the government stepped up sales of subsidised tomato, totalling 93,800 kg in Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, according to data seen by HT. The vegetable is now retailing at an average price of ₹100, down from a peak of ₹250 a kg a month ago. Yet, consumers say the essential ingredient of most Indian curries remains unaffordable. “We can’t afford it. We have stopped buying tomatoes. It is as expensive as chicken,” Mintu Singh, a daily wager from east Delhi said.
Retail inflation jumped the highest in 15 months to stand at 7.44% from a year ago in July, breaching the Reserve Bank of India’s tolerable limit of 4% on the back of runaway grocery and food prices, official data released on Monday showed. Retail vegetable inflation saw a spike of 37.34%, led by tomatoes.
“The department of consumer affairs has directed NCCF and NAFED to sell tomatoes at retail price of ₹50 per kg from 15th August in view of the decline in tomato prices in the wholesale markets,” a statement said on Monday.
Till August 13, NCCF and NAFED, two state-backed food agencies, procured 1.5 million tonne of tomato which are being continuously sold at a discount in major consumption centres. These include Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan (Jaipur, Kota), Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Prayagraj) and Bihar (Patna, Muzaffarpur, Arrah, Buxar).
Over the past few days, the NCCF had “substantially increased the quantity of tomato supplied to the retail consumers by stationing its mobile vans across 70 locations all over Delhi, and 15 locations in Noida and Greater Noida”, the statement said.
The retail price of tomatoes procured by NCCF and NAFED was initially fixed at Rs.90 per kg and, as wholesale prices began to ease, it was reduced to Rs.80 per kg from July 16. It was eased to Rs70 per kg from July 10.
