Centre slashes wholesale tomato price to Rs 80/kg, change to reflect in select cities from today

The changes in the price will be executed in Delhi, Noida, Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Patna, Muzaffarpur and Arrah through the National Agriculture Cooperation Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and the National Consumer Cooperation Federation (NCCF).

New Delhi:In a relief for consumers, who were forced to go off tomatoes after its prices went through the roof across the country, the Centre on Sunday reduced the wholesale price of tomatoes from Rs 90 to Rs 80 per kg.

According to an official release, after re-assessing the current situation of the market, the Centre decided to revise the price of tomatoes. The changes in the price will be executed from July 16, Sunday, in Delhi, Noida, Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Patna, Muzaffarpur and Arrah through the National Agriculture Cooperation Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and the National Consumer Cooperation Federation (NCCF).

It will be expanded to more cities depending upon the prevailing market price at the current locations. The rates of tomatoes were previously revised on July 14 to Rs 90 per kg. The chairman of NCCF, Vishal Singh, said fresh consignments of tomatoes arrived from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The surging tomato prices in recent weeks hit consumers across the country.

In major cities, tomato prices skyrocketed, reaching unprecedented levels of Rs. 150-160 per kg. The retail inflation data for June reflected the increase in prices of tomatoes and other vegetables. Wholesale inflation, which measures the increase in prices of goods at the wholesale level, stood at 8.39% in October but it has been declining since then.

The wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation had remained in the double digits for a continuous period of 18 months until September. Retail inflation, which reflects the price changes experienced by consumers, rose significantly during June, reaching 4.81%. This increase was largely driven by a sharp rise in vegetable prices.

Various categories such as vegetables, meat and fish, eggs, pulses and products and spices saw a noticeable uptick in prices. In May, the retail inflation reached a two-year low, at 4.31%. However, it rose to 4.7% in April and was even higher at 5.7% the previous month. (ANI)