Closely watching consumer emotions that are. low over relatively high tomato prices, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi has reassured the consumer that prices will start reducing in the next one week to ten days.
Joshi gave the assurance while making an interaction in the program held by the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India, NCCF, to retail tomatoes at comparatively cheaper prices in the national capital.
Looking at the trends, the minister pointed out that the prices have been reducing daily as compared to the week before last week and hoped that in seven to ten days’ time, the prices will come to normalcy, and until such time, this program will go on.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, which operates through the NCCF, has launched a market support program that aims to stabilize the firms’ retail tomato prices, which have been on an upward trend. Accordingly, the NCCF has derived a policy to sell tomatoes at Rs 60 per kg at its eighteen centers in Delhi-NCR.
The arrangement under discussion also encompasses the costs of transportation and handling from the markets. Joshi said the above-mentioned initiative will commence today, and the company will go ahead with it.
According to the plan and schedule, the tomatoes’ sales will start from Monday at such venues as Rajiv Chowk Metro, Patel Chowk Metro, and 15 others. In this case, the minister observed that the sales spots may be expanded to more in the future for the convenience of the consumer.
The above move by the government is aimed at Senator some fair profit margins at the retail level so that there is a check on the intermediary, who at times makes unconservative gains.
The prices of tomatoes have been on the increase for several weeks, and the vegetable has now become a prestige good to many families. The minister’s assurance that the price of the commodity would begin to stabilize in the next week up to ten days is, therefore, the much-needed relief to the common man.
