“The intervention is to protect consumers from recent increase in tomato prices and prevent windfall gains for intermediaries. NCCF is also continuously supplying onions from the government buffer at Rs 35 per kg to retail consumers in major cities across the country,” said.The senior government official said the retail price of tomatoes has seen an unwarranted increase in recent weeks despite continuous arrival in mandis in good quantities.“Rains and high humidity due to prolonged monsoon in major producing states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra are reported to have led to quality concerns in recent weeks.The possible role of market intermediaries in the current price rise in this high demand festive season may not be ruled out,” said the official.“By directly engaging with farmers and offering tomatoes at a discounted rate, the organization is playing a crucial role in mitigating the impact of price fluctuations on consumers,” said Anupam Mishra, Joint Secretary & MD NCCF.Directly buying from mandisThe NCCF has initiated a market intervention by directly procuring tomatoes from mandis and selling them at a subsidized rate, said Nidhi Khare, secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs. “The intervention is to protect consumers from recent increase in prices and prevent windfall gains for intermediaries.
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