NEW DELHI: The Central government on Friday informed Parliament that tomato prices are expected to decrease due to the increased arrival of fresh crops from Nasik, Naryangoan, and Aurangabad in Maharashtra, as well as from Madhya Pradesh.

In a written response to a query in the Rajya Sabha, Ashwini Choubey, the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, stated that tomatoes were initially retailed at Rs 90 per kg. However, the price has been reduced to Rs 80 per kg starting from July 16, and further brought down to Rs 70 per kg from July 20.

The recent surge in tomato prices might encourage farmers to cultivate more tomato crops, which is expected to stabilize prices in the coming months, according to the minister's response.

Choubey also mentioned that the Consumer Affairs Department regularly monitors the daily prices of 22 essential food commodities, including tomatoes.

To counter the current surge in tomato prices and make them accessible to consumers at affordable rates, the government has initiated the procurement of tomatoes under the price stabilization fund. These tomatoes are made available to consumers at highly subsidized rates.

In collaboration with the National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED), the government is continuously procuring tomatoes from mandis in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. Subsequently, they are being sold at affordable prices in major consumption centers like Delhi-NCR, Bihar, Rajasthan, among others, after subsidizing the prices for consumers.

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Tomato Price Hike: Store tomatoes like this for a long time amid skyrocketing prices