Centre orders NCCF and NAFED to sell tomatoes at Rs 40/kg

New Delhi: The Central government has issued a directive instructing the National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) to sell tomatoes to retail consumers at a price of Rs 40 per kg starting from August 20.

IBNS • 19 Aug 2023, 10:56 pm

This decision, announced on Friday, by the Department of Consumer Affairs was prompted by a decrease in wholesale tomato rates.

NCCF and NAFED have been engaged in selling tomatoes in various regions including Delhi-NCR, Jaipur, and Kota in Rajasthan, as well as Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, and Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, and Patna, Muzaffarpur, Arrah, and Buxar in Bihar.

Initially, the selling price for tomatoes procured by NCCF and NAFED was set at Rs 90 per kg, but it has been progressively reduced in accordance with the declining wholesale rates.

The retail price was last adjusted to Rs 50 per kg on August 15.

Up to this point, both agencies have procured over 15 lakh kg of tomatoes, and these tomatoes are being continuously distributed in retail markets across major consumption centers in the country.