Some Subway India outlets drop tomatoes citing poor quality amid price surge

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Some Subway India outlets have stopped serving tomatoes in salads and sandwiches due to quality issues, the latest move by a foreign brand as staple food prices have risen nearly 400 per cent to reach record highs in the country.

A MRT outlet at a Delhi airport station advertised “temporary unavailability of tomatoes” in a sign saying that the restaurant could not get enough supplies that passed their quality checks.

Also read: Tomato-nomics – Behind the rising prices of kitchen staples

“So at the moment we are forced to offer products without tomatoes,” she said. “We are working to restore the supply of tomatoes.”

Everstone Group’s Culinary Brands, which owns the master franchise for about 200 of India’s 800 Subway and manages the supply chain for all of them, did not respond to a request for comment.

It was not clear how many outlets were affected.

Several Indian outlets are still serving tomatoes, according to checks of food-ordering apps and calls to stores, but at least two in New Delhione in Uttar Pradesh and the other in Chennai have stopped.

“It’s very expensive,” said a Subway employee.

Government response

two weeks ago, McDonald’s dropped the tomato of burgers and wraps in many parts of India due to quality issues.

In New Delhi, tomatoes retailed for around INR 168 per kilogram on Saturday, after touching around INR 240.

the The government blames the high price of tomatoes In lean production season as monsoon rains disrupt transportation and distribution. It comes after months of soaring prices for items ranging from milk to spices.

In recent weeks the government has organized mobile supply trucks Tomatoes at cheaper pricesHundreds line up every day.

Also read: Why didn’t rising tomato prices make farmers rich?

International restaurant chains such as Domino’s and KFC are also launching lower-priced products in India, as consumers have cut spending due to rising inflation. Domino’s aggressively promotes its 60-cent 7-inch pizza, the cheapest brand worldwide, in the country.