Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday directed the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) to procure tomatoes from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra for distribution in major consumption centers, where retail prices have recorded maximum increase in the last one month because of seasonal reasons.
The stocks of tomatoes will be distributed through retail outlets at discounted prices to the consumers in Delhi-NCR region from July 14, the Consumer Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
Retail prices of tomatoes have soared up to Rs 200 per kg in several parts of the country because of supply disruption caused by heavy rains.
The targeted centers for the release of tomatoes have been identified on the basis of an absolute increase in retail prices over the past month in centers where prevailing prices are above the all-India average.
Key consumption centers in states having a higher concentration of the identified centers will be selected for the intervention, the ministry said.
The periods during July-August and October-November are generally the lean production months for tomatoes.
“July coinciding with the monsoon season adds to challenges related to distribution and increased transit losses adding to price rise,” it said.
Currently, the supplies coming to markets in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and some other states are mostly from Maharashtra especially Satara, Narayangaon, and Nashik, which is expected to last till this month-end.
Madanapalle (Chittoor) in Andhra Pradesh also has continued arrivals in reasonable quantities. The arrivals in Delhi-NCR are mainly from Himachal Pradesh and some quantity comes from Kolar in Karnataka.
The ministry said the new crop arrivals are expected soon from the Nashik district in Maharashtra.
In August, additional supply is expected from the Narayangaon and Aurangabad belt. Madhya Pradesh arrivals are also likely to start.
“Prices are anticipated to cool down in the near future, accordingly,” the ministry noted.
Tomato is produced almost in all the states in India, though in varying quantities. Maximum production is in southern and western regions of India, contributing about 58 percent of all-India production, the media reported.
Southern and Western regions being surplus states feed to other markets depending on production seasons, which are also different across regions. The peak harvesting season occurs from December to February.
The cycle of planting and harvesting seasons and variation across regions are primarily responsible for price seasonality in tomatoes, the ministry said.
Apart from the normal price seasonality, temporary supply chain disruptions, crop damage because of adverse weather conditions, etc. often lead to sudden spikes in prices, it added.