Nepal's tomato exports to bring down prices

New Delhi: Amid concerns over record-high surge of tomato prices across India, the consumers are expected to get a big relief as Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that India would be importing tomatoes from Nepal.

As part of the measures to control overall inflation in the country, the government, however, aims to check prices of tomatoes and sell them to the consumers at an affordable price in the market.

The move of the government comes after tomato prices have reportedly skyrocketed more than 1,400 per cent at the wholesale markets to a record average of Rs 140 per kg in the past three months or more, with farmers citing reasons such as poor rainfall, higher temperatures and a virus outbreak that have hit the crop.

Besides, tomato prices witnessed a sudden jump even last week in many parts of the country. The kitchen staple also saw a price surge amid supply disruptions caused due to heavy rainfall in the key producing regions.

During her speech in Parliament, Sitharaman informed that the first lot of imports are likely to reach Varanasi, Lucknow and Kanpur cities in northern India by Friday.

“We have allowed imports from Nepal by removing import restrictions. Lot of steps have been taken to contain inflation. A group of ministers (GoM) has been taking timely steps to control prices, which are hitting common people,” Sitharman said, while participating in a debate on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha.

Besides, she also said that Tur dal is being imported from Mozambique, Urad dal will be imported from Myanmar, while around three lakh tonnes of onions have been procured to create a buffer stock.

As far as tomatoes are concerned,  they are being procured from Maharashtra and Karnataka, and distributed in Delhi-NCR, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Rajasthan through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) and other cooperative societies.

Assuring consumers to provide them at a cheaper price of tomatoes, Sitharaman said that it would be sold at Rs 70 per kg in Delhi-NCR. “The National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Limited (NCCF) will conduct the sale of tomatoes in Delhi-NCR at a subsidised rate this weekend to help alleviate the situation. The NCCF has distributed 8.84 lakh kg of tomatoes in these states. This will continue, and be increased,” she said, adding that the wholesale prices of tomatoes in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are coming down.

Reserve Bank governor Shaktikanta Das also said that a spike in tomato prices and rise in cereal pulses contributed to inflation in the country, while announcing key decisions of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.

“The vegetable prices may see a significant correction,” he said.