Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said the spike in tomato prices is a temporary seasonal phenomenon. Rohit Kumar Singh told news agency PTI that the price will come down soon. The price of tomatoes in major cities had crossed the century mark.
Tomatoes are a perishable vegetable. They cannot be preserved for long. Sudden rains often disrupt traffic and can cause tomatoes to perish midway. This is a temporary problem. The price will cool down soon. Rohit said that this happens every year at this time.
Higher prices are due to high temperatures, low production and delays in rains. In May, tomatoes were available at Rs 3-5 per kg in many parts of the country. The sudden spike in tomato prices has arguably fueled the inflation woes of the Reserve Bank of India, which is tasked with controlling inflation.
According to data from the Department of Consumer Affairs, the average price of tomatoes on an all-India basis on June 27 was Rs 46 per kg. The model price is Rs 50 per kg and the maximum price is Rs 122 per kg. Across the four metro cities, the retail price of tomato is Rs 60 per kg in Delhi, Rs 42 per kg in Mumbai, Rs 75 per kg in Kolkata and Rs 67 per kg in Chennai. In other major cities, the price is Rs 52 per kg in Bengaluru, Rs 80 in Jammu, Rs 60 in Lucknow, Rs 88 in Shimla, Rs 100 in Bhubaneswar and Rs 99 in Raipur. According to data, the maximum price from Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Bellary (Karnataka) is Rs 122 per kg.
