Wholesale prices of potato on decline

KOLKATA: Wholesale prices of potato - the staple vegetable on Indian platter - have started to decline. In last 15 days prices of potato has dropped by 12.5% in the wholesale market to Rs 14 -15 per kg. Retail consumers are likely to get benefit of this falling price from next week, traders said.

Prices of potato at the retail end have been hovering around Rs 22 - Rs 25 per kg in most parts of India. Potato prices have shot up since May as the production had dropped in West Bengal, the second largest producer of the tuber. While in 2015, the state had produced nearly 120 lakh tonnes of potato, this year the production is hovering between 90 -95 lakh tonnes.

Patit Paban De, member, West Bengal Cold Storage Association said that states like Gujarat had cultivated more potatoes this year as there was an anticipation in the market that West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee would stop movement of potatoes from her state to control prices. "Some of the potato growing states had thought that they would sell their produce in those markets where West Bengal is active. But that did not happen. Therefore, now there is good volumes of potato with the trade. This will result in prices declining. In Bengal market retail prices are expected to come down to at least rs 20 per kg from Rs 22 per kg now."

The cold storages in Bengal now have 55-56 lakh tonnes of potatoes. In addition, Nepal, which generally buys potatoes from Bengal for its domestic consumption, has not picke dup much from the country this year. Therefore, there is ample supply of potato in the state now.