Cooperation Minister I. Periasamy on Tuesday announced that the Cooperation Department will procure about 15 tonnes of tomatoes in the first phase and sell them for ₹85-₹100 a kg through its farm fresh consumer outlets in 12 districts. They cost ₹110-₹130 a kg in the open market.
In a statement, Mr. Periasamy cited the limited supply of vegetables due to northeast monsoon as the reason behind the rise in prices. He said steps had been taken to sell all vegetables at prices lower than those prevailing in the open market through 65 farm fresh consumer outlets after they were procured by cooperatives such as Triplicane Urban Cooperative Society (TUCS) and Chinthamani.
Vegetables at low rices were sold in these 65 outlets in Chennai, Coimbatore, Thoothukudi, Madurai, Tiruvannamalai, Tiruchi, Thanjavur, Tirunelveli, Tiruppur, Salem, Erode and Vellore districts, he added.
