No fall in tomato output; price rise due to supply disruption

November 23, 2015 04:08 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 03:20 pm IST - New Delhi

The price increase in tomato is a seasonal issue, says Paswan.

The price increase in tomato is a seasonal issue, says Paswan.

Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Monday said there has been no decline in tomato output and the shooting up of the prices to over Rs 60 a kg is due to disruption in supplies from rain-hit South India.

“There is no fall in production of tomato in the country.

Prices have increased due to transportation problems and rains in the South India,” Paswan said on the sidelines of an event here.

>The price increase in tomato is a seasonal issue and the price situation will normalise as supplies improve, he added.

Tomato prices have risen sharply in the last few days to over Rs 60 per kg in most retail markets. In rain-affected Chennai, they had touched as high as Rs 80 per kg last week.

Cabinet Secretary P.K. Sinha had reviewed the tomato price situation last week and directed the ministries concerned to keep a close watch on the prices.

On pulses prices which are still ruling above Rs 180 per kg, Paswan said the rise is purely due to widening gap in demand and supply of lentils.

The government has taken all measures to rein in prices including imposing stock holding limits and action against hoarders, imports among others, he added.

Paswan said that the production is around 17.5 million tonnes against the demand of 25 million tonnes. The balance is met through imports.

The secretaries of Agriculture, Food, Commerce and Finance are regularly monitoring the prices of pulses, tomato and other essential commodities on a regular basis, he added.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.