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Tomatoes
The US government said Monday it is placing a 17 per cent duty on most fresh Mexican tomatoes after negotiations ended without an agreement to avert the tariff. Proponents said the import tax will help rebuild the shrinking US tomato industry and ensure that produce eaten in the US is also grown there. Mexico currently supplies around 70 per ccent of the US tomato market, up from 30 per cent two decades ago, according to the Florida Tomato Exchange. But opponents, including US companies that grow tomatoes in Mexico, said the tariff will make fresh tomatoes more expensive for US buyers. Tim Richards, a professor at the Morrison School of Agribusiness at Arizona State University, said US retail prices for tomatoes will likely rise around 8.5 per cent with a 17 per cent duty. The duty stems from a longstanding US complaint about Mexico's tomato exports and is separate from the 30 per cent base tariff on products made in Mexico and the European Union that President Donald Trump announc
Relief may be in sight for Delhi-NCR residents reeling under soaring tomato prices, which have crossed Rs 100 per kg mark, with increased supplies expected from Maharashtra in the coming days, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said on Thursday. The government will continue selling tomatoes at a subsidised rate of Rs 65 per kg in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai through the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India (NCCF), Khare told reporters. The price surge comes as supplies from key southern states Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have been disrupted due to retreating monsoon rains causing crop damage and pest infestation. This supply crunch, coupled with festive season demand, has pushed prices northward. "While weekly arrivals have been impacted, we expect supplies from Maharashtra to improve shortly, which should help stabilise prices in the national capital," Khare said, adding that the government is maintaining strict vigilance on price movements. Since October 7, NCCF has s
The government will start selling tomatoes at a subsidised rate of Rs 50 per kg from Friday in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai retail markets as against Rs 60 per kg now to provide relief to the common man. On July 29, Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi had launched sales of tomatoes at a subsidised rate of Rs 60 per kg in Delhi-NCR. Later, the sales started in Mumbai also. "Prices of tomatoes have come down after our intervention," Joshi told reporters here. Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said, "We will start selling tomatoes at Rs 50 per kg from tomorrow (August 2) in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai," she told reporters. The National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) is selling tomatoes through mobile vans. According to the Department of Consumer Affairs data, the all-India average price of tomatoes stood at Rs 61.74 per kg on July 31. In Delhi, the average price was Rs 70 per kg on Wednesday. Last month, the rates soared to more than Rs 100 per kg as
Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday launched sales of tomatoes at a subsidised rate of Rs 60 per kg in Delhi-NCR as part of the government's efforts to stabilise prices and provide relief to the common man. The National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) vans will provide tomatoes at a subsidised rate. The tomatoes will be sold in Delhi along with Noida and Gurugram, according to an official statement. The Centre undertook the market intervention initiative to stabilise rising tomato prices in the retail market. While addressing the media during the flagging-off ceremony, Joshi said the Department of Consumer Affairs has decided to launch this initiative to check the surge of tomato prices in major cities, especially Delhi. "From today onwards subsidised tomatoes will be sold for Rs 60 per kg," he said. Vegetable vendors are selling tomatoes at Rs 70-100 per kg in the national capital, depending on the quality and locations. Joshi said th
The government on Monday said tomato prices have fallen to Rs 50-70 per kilogramme with arrival of fresh crops in retail markets and it will continue to sell tomatoes at a discounted rate till rates come down to a normal level. Tomato prices had skyrocketed to as high as Rs 250 per kg in the retail markets across the country due to unseasonal rains. "Tomato prices are ruling in the range of Rs 50-70 per kg in retail markets across the country at present," Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh told PTI. Prices have started cooling down with increase in arrival of the fresh crop in states like Madhya Pradesh, he added. On sale of tomatoes at a subsidised rates, the secretary said the government will sell the commodity at the discounted prices in select states till the retail prices come to normalcy. Cooperatives NCCF and NAFED have started selling tomatoes at a reduced rate of Rs 40 per kilogramme since August 20 amid declining price of the kitchen staple in wholesale and ret
Fast food chain Burger King has stopped using tomatoes in its food preparations, joining the list of other quick service restaurant (QSR) chains like McDonald's and Subway, amid soaring prices of the staple kitchen item. Burger King, operated by Restaurant Brands Asia in the country with 400 stores, in a message on the support page of its website cited "quality" and "supply" issues as reasons for removing tomatoes from its food servings. "We, at Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd, have very high standards of quality as we believe in serving real and authentic food. Due to unpredictable conditions on the quality & supply of tomato crops, we are unable to add tomatoes to our food. Rest assured, our tomatoes will be back soon," the message read. It has requested customers to have "patience and understanding" for the situation. Some Burger King India outlets have reportedly placed a notice with some humour, saying, "Even tomatoes need a vacation... we are unable to add tomatoes to our ...
The Centre on Monday directed cooperatives NCCF and NAFED to sell tomatoes at a reduced rate of Rs 50 per kilogram from Tuesday in view of the decline in prices in the wholesale markets. Since July, both NCCF and NAFED have been selling tomatoes at a discounted rate on behalf of the consumer affairs ministry in Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar to boost domestic availability and contain price rise. Initially, the ministry had asked the two cooperatives to sell tomatoes at a subsidised rate of Rs 90 per kg and later reduced the price to Rs 80 per kg. Further, the price was cut to Rs 70 per kg. "The latest reduction to Rs 50 per kg will further benefit the consumers," the ministry said in a statement. So far, a total of 15 lakh kg of tomatoes have been procured by the two cooperatives which are being continuously disposed of to the retail consumers in major consumption centres in the country. These locations include Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan (Jaipur, Kota), Uttar Pradesh ...
Nepal is ready to export tomatoes to India in bulk on a long-term basis to quell the skyrocketing prices but has sought easy access to the market and other necessary facilities. The neighbouring country's assurance came after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament on Thursday that India has started importing tomatoes from Nepal amid a record-high spike in prices in the country. India is importing tomatoes for the first time due to high retail prices of around Rs 242 per kg amid supply disruptions caused by heavy rains. Nepal is desirous to export vegetables, such as tomatoes, on a long-term basis to India, but for that India has to provide easy access to its market and other necessary facilities, Agriculture Ministry spokesperson Shabnam Shivakoti told PTI here on Friday. Though Nepal has already started exporting tomatoes to India through official channels a week ago, it is not in big quantities, she said. Arrangements are yet to be made for large-scale export of ...
The Nepal government on Friday said it wants to export tomatoes in bulk and on a long-term basis to India but for that, it needs to have easy access to the market and other necessary facilities. The neighbouring country's plea came a day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament that India has started importing tomatoes from Nepal amid a record-high spike in prices in the country. India is importing tomatoes for the first time due to high retail prices which were as high as Rs 242 per kg on Friday amid supply disruptions caused by heavy rains. Nepal is desirous to export vegetables, such as tomatoes, on a long-term basis to India, but for that India has to provide easy access to its market and other necessary facilities, Agriculture Ministry spokesperson Shabnam Shivakoti told PTI here. Though Nepal has already started exporting tomatoes to India through official channels a week ago, it is not in big quantities, she said. Arrangements are yet to be made for large s
Tomato prices are likely to touch Rs 300 per kilogram in the coming days and the prices of vegetables are also on the rise, according to wholesale traders. Kaushik, a member of Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), said that vegetable wholesalers are facing losses as the sale of tomato, capsicum, and other seasonal vegetables has fallen drastically. He said that the prices of tomatoes have shot up to Rs 220 per kilo from Rs 160 per kilo in the wholesale market, owing to which retail prices can also go up. Meanwhile, Mother Dairy started selling the key kitchen staple at a whopping Rs 259 per kg on Wednesday via its Safal retail stores. Tomato prices have been under pressure for more than a month now on account of supply disruptions caused due to heavy rainfall in the key producing regions. "There is a lot of difficulty in transportation of vegetables due to landslides and heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh. It takes 6 to 8 hours more than usual in exportation of vegetables