From July 4, the TN State Government to offer tomatoes at ₹60 per Kg through fair pricing stores in Chennai

The Tamil Nadu state government has decided to sell tomatoes through fair-price shops in Chennai at ₹60 a kg from July 4. Following a review meeting on Monday, Minister of Co-operatives K.R. Periyakaruppan declared that in the first phase, tomatoes will be sold at 82 fair-pricing stores in Chennai. There were 32 reasonable-priced stores in north Chennai. According to the Minister, the program would be expanded to other sections of the state based on the need.

Farm Fresh stores in several areas of the state, including Chennai, Coimbatore, Salem, Erode, and Vellore, have already begun selling tomatoes for 60 rupees per kilogram. Meanwhile, the wholesale price of tomatoes in Chennai fell slightly to $90 per kg on Monday after being high for several days. However, in many locations, the retail price remained at 120 per kilogram.

On Monday, the Koyambedu wholesale market complex received five new cars. Additional shipments were supplied from Srinivasapura and Kolar in Karnataka, according to wholesale merchants. The market, on Monday, received 40 to 45 truckloads of tomatoes, compared to the usual load of 90 to 100 lorry loads.

According to merchants, just 50% of farmers grew tomato crops since prior harvests did not fetch a fair price. The reasons given were excessive heat and recent rain. Chennai gets the majority of its water from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Diversion of supply to offset the shortfall in other regions led to such a steep rise in price. It is not just tomatoes. Several other vegetables, including beans and green chilies, have become expensive due to the recent heatwave followed by heavy rain spells in some States. Ginger and garlic are among the other costly produce whose prices rose to ₹200 a kg and ₹150 a kg. It's not just the tomatoes. Other veggies, such as beans and green chilies, have grown more costly as a result of the recent hot followed by heavy rain in several states. Ginger and garlic are two more expensive agricultural items whose prices have risen to $200 and $150 per kilogramme, respectively.