Chennai vendor sells tomato at ₹20/kg for a day amid soaring price

livemint.com:

₹20 per kilo on Friday to mark the fourth anniversary of his shop. D Rajesh, 38, the owner of DR Vegetables and onion shop in Sellakupam, said he bought 550 kgs of tomatoes at ₹60 per kilo, including the transportation charges, from Bengaluru in Karnataka. He then sold the vegetable at a loss of ₹40 per kilo to ‘help the needy,’ reported TOI.

“People were restricted to buy only one kg per person as I wanted as many people possible to benefit from the concession. The entire stock was sold in a few minutes. I established the shop after working for more than 30 YEARS in my uncle’s shop.

I revised the rate to 48 per kg on Saturday. Again, I made a brisk business selling more than 280kg of tomatoes on Saturday," TOI reported quoting D Rajesh.  D Rajesh said the offer did not let people stockpile the vegetable.  Recounting how he sold onions at ₹10 when their prices were soaring, he said that he gives the discount every year to mark his shop's anniversary. "When I established the shop, in 2019, onion prices were soaring above 100 per kg.

But I sold it at 10 per kg as an opening offer," he said. In Chennai, tomatoes are currently selling at ₹100-130 per kg. Last month, the state government decided to sell the vegetable at a subsidized rate of ₹68 per kg at ration shops in a bid to bring some respite to the consumers amid the price spiral.