Central Government Launches Subsidized Tomato Sale through ONDC in Delhi: Tomatoes Now Available at ₹70/kg

• ByStartupStory     |    July 22, 2023

The central government has initiated the sale of tomatoes at a subsidized rate of ₹70 per kilogram in Delhi through the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), starting from Saturday, July 22. This move aims to address the rising tomato prices in the national capital and provide relief to consumers.

T Koshy, the managing director of ONDC, confirmed that the government’s agricultural marketing agencies, the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), have collaborated to implement the subsidized pricing.

Currently, e-commerce companies are offering doorstep delivery of tomatoes at approximately ₹170-180 per kg, while prices at key cities have escalated to as high as ₹150-200 per kg.

Initially, tomatoes procured by NCCF and NAFED were retailed at ₹90 per kg, which was later reduced to ₹80 per kg from July 16, 2023. With the latest initiative, tomatoes are now available at the subsidized rate of ₹70 per kg in Delhi.

The government directed NCCF and NAFED to procure tomatoes from mandis in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra for simultaneous distribution in major consumption centers where retail prices have seen a significant surge in the past month.

“The retail sale of tomatoes in Delhi-NCR had started from July 14, 2023. Till July 18, 2023, a total of 391 tonnes of tomatoes had been procured by the two agencies, which are being continuously distributed to the retail consumers in major consumption centers of Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar,” the statement said.

The all-India average retail price of tomatoes, as per the data compiled by the Department of Consumer Affairs, stands at ₹119.29 per kg on Wednesday.

This initiative is expected to provide much-needed relief to consumers grappling with soaring tomato prices and ensure better access to this essential kitchen commodity.

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