"Tomatoes From Nepal": Nirmala Sitharaman On Bringing Down Prices

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday praised India's economy, saying the country is in a unique position of being optimistic and positive about its future growth when the global economy is struggling. While replying to the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, Ms Sitharaman spoke extensively about measures being taken to tame inflation, and what the government is doing to control the price of tomatoes. "Lot of steps have been taken to contain inflation. Group of Ministers has been taking timely steps to control prices which are hitting common people," she said.

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

The minister assured that the prices of tomatoes in Delhi-NCR will come down to Rs 70 per kg as the government is procuring them from Maharashtra and Karnataka and distributing in the national capital, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Rajasthan through NAFED and other cooperative societies.

"The NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers' Federation) has distributed 8,84,000 kg of tomatoes in these states, and in the coming weekend, NCCF is planning a mega sale of tomatoes in Delhi NCR region at subsidised rate of Rs 70 per kg. Tomatoes being imported from Nepal are also going to reach cities like Lucknow, Varanasi, and Kanpur soon," she added.

Earlier this week, rating agency Crisil had said in its report that hike in price of tomatoes has made a vegetarian thali dearer by 34 per cent going by month-on-month basis. The inflation in the thalis is largely driven by the 233 per cent jump in tomato prices to Rs 110 per kilogramme in July from Rs 33 in June, said the 'Roti Rice' report, which is the monthly indicator of food plate cost.