New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) In a bid to address rising tomato prices, the National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF) on Monday initiated a market intervention by directly procuring tomatoes from mandis and selling them at a subsidised rate of Rs 65 per kilogram at 50 locations of Delhi-NCR.
The intervention is to protect consumers from the recent increase in tomato prices and to prevent windfall gains for intermediaries, according to an official statement.
Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare initiated the retail sale of tomatoes through mobile vans and NCCF retail shops at Krishi Bhawan.
” We are trying to moderate the prices of tomatoes. With this market intervention, in the next 3-4 days prices of tomatoes will come down,” Khare told reporters.
The statement said the retail prices of tomatoes have seen an unwarranted increase in recent weeks despite continuous arrival in good quantities in mandis.
Prolonged monsoon rains and high humidity in major producing states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra are reported to have raised quality concerns in recent weeks.
“The possible role of market intermediaries in the current price rise in this high-demand festive season may not be ruled out, “the statement said. PTI BKS DR
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