Even as the prices of tomatoes continue to rise, the Centre, on Wednesday, directed National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF) to procure tomatoes from mandis in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra for distribution in major consumption centres.
Stocks of tomatoes will be sold through retail outlets at discounted prices to consumers in the Delhi-NCR region by Friday.
The ministry of consumer affairs said centres, where tomatoes will be availed at discounted rates, have been identified on the basis of absolute increase in retail prices over the past one month. These will be where prices are above the all-India average.
Key consumption centres in states having a higher concentration of the identified centres are further selected for the intervention, the ministry said.
Retail prices of tomatoes have soared up to Rs 200 per kg in several parts of the country due to supply disruption caused by heavy rains in the country.
Currently, the supplies coming to markets in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and some other states are mostly from Maharashtra, and this is expected to last till the end of June.
Tomatoes reach Delhi-NCR mostly from Himachal Pradesh and some quantity comes from Kolar in Karnataka as well.
While tomatoes are produced in almost all states in the country, production seasons are different across regions.
The peak harvesting season happens from December to February. The periods during July-August and October-November are generally lean production months. July coinciding with monsoon season, adds to further challenges related to distribution and increased transit losses, adding to price rise. Apart from seasonality, temporary supply chain disruptions and crop damage due to adverse weather conditions often lead to price increase.
New crop arrivals are expected soon from Nashik, the minisrty said. In August, additional supply is expected to come from Narayangaon and Aurangabad belt. Arrivals from Madhya Pradesh are also expected to begin soon.
"Prices are anticipated to cool down in the near future," the ministry noted.