The National Cooperative Consumer’s Federation of India Ltd (NCCF), a cooperative body under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, began selling tomatoes at Rs 65 per kg on Monday, amid soaring prices of the kitchen staple ahead of the festival season. Nidhi Khare, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, flagged off the NCCF vans selling tomatoes from Krishi Bhawan which houses several ministries including agriculture and food. Speaking to reporters, Khare said NCCF vans will sell tomatoes at Rs 65 per kg at 50 locations across Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, and Ghaziabad. She expressed hope that the tomato prices will come down in the next few days. The move comes at a time when the all-India daily average retail price of tomato was recorded at Rs 61.68 per kg on October 6, which was 38.89 per cent higher as compared to Rs 44.41 per kg a month ago and 108.31 per cent higher compared to Rs 29.61 per kg a year ago. The daily retail price of tomato was recorded at Rs 73 per kg in Delhi, Rs 80 per kg in Mumbai, and Rs 90 per kg in Chennai on October 6, according to the data available on the Department of Consumer Affairs’ portal.
