Nearly 450 tonnes of tomatoes were sold in the last one month through fair price shops and farm fresh outlets, following the State government’s decision to supply the vegetable at ₹60 a kg.
On July 4, the sale of tomatoes began at 82 shops in Chennai.
At present, tomatoes are being sold through 500 ration shops and farm fresh outlets. They are being sourced from farmers in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, apart from local farmers, a government official monitoring the sale of tomatoes said.
As for reports that the sale of tomatoes through ration shops at ₹60 a kg had been stopped “abruptly” in parts of southern districts and farm fresh outlets were selling tomatoes at ₹95 a kg, the official said instructions were “clear” to sell tomatoes at ₹60 a kg only.
Referring to the distribution of tokens for the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai scheme, the official said that this could have been a reason for the “gaps, if any”. However, the official added that he would ascertain the actual reason.
