Amid rising prices, Centre to source tomatoes from Andhra, K’taka, Maha

Amid spiralling prices of tomatoes across the country due to heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand from where bulk of supplies arrive, the Centre has sought procurement of tomatoes from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Tomato stocks will be distributed through retail outlets at discounted prices to the consumers in Delhi-NCR region by Friday, Consumer Affairs Ministry officials said. The Ministry has directed the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF) to immediately procure tomatoes from mandis in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra, for simultaneous distribution in major consumption centres where retail prices have recorded maximum increase in the last one month. 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. Tomato supplies in Delhi-NCR are mainly from Himachal Pradesh and some also come from Kolar, Karnataka.