New Delhi: The prices of tomato is expected to come down with the increase in arrival of new crop from Nasik, Naryangoan, and Aurangabad belt in Maharashtra and also from Madhya Pradesh, the Centre told the Rajya Sabha on Friday.
The Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, conveyed this information in a written response to a query from a Rajya Sabha member.
The Minister also stated that the Department of Consumer Affairs closely monitors the daily prices of 22 essential food commodities, including tomatoes.
To address the current surge in tomato prices and ensure its availability at reasonable rates for consumers, the government has initiated the procurement of tomatoes under the Price Stabilisation Fund. These tomatoes will be made available to consumers at highly subsidised rates.
Choubey added that the National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) are actively procuring tomatoes from markets in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. Subsequently, they are offering these tomatoes at affordable prices in major consumption centres, including Delhi-NCR, Bihar, and Rajasthan, after subsidising the costs for consumers.
Furthermore, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DAFW) implements the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) to safeguard growers of perishable agri-horticultural commodities from distress sales during periods of bumper crops. This intervention is especially crucial during peak arrival periods, when prices tend to plummet below economic levels and the cost of production.
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