Kolkata: Potato price, which have spiked by Rs 2-3/kg, is expected to drop and supply normalise after potato traders ended their strike on Tuesday and promised seamless unloading from cold storages across Bengal. The impasse ended after CM Mamata Banerjee allowed supply of potatoes to neighbouring states provided it did not impact the supply and prices here.
Administrative officials said they would keep a close watch on the demand-supply gap in the retail and wholesale markets.
As unloading of potatoes from cold storages was halted on Tuesday, prices of the tuber shot up, with the Jyoti variety selling for Rs 35/kg, instead of Rs 32/kg a day earlier, and the Chandramukhi variety going for RS 40/kg from Rs 38/kg. In a meeting with potato traders, Banerjee allowed the export of potatoes to other states, with a caution that the move should not impact domestic supply and price.
The Progressive Potato Traders’ Association had called the strike across Bengal starting Saturday midnight following complications over potato sales to neighbouring states. Although the strike began at Saturday midnight, the supply already unloaded was packaged and brought to markets on Sunday. But no new supply was released on Monday or Tuesday. Traders feared that if the strike continued, the stock would not be enough on Wednesday and the shortage would lead to further increase in potato prices.
To find a solution, the state called a meeting with potato traders at Nabanna on Tuesday. “The vast amount of potatoes stored in the state can’t all be consumed by people here. They had to be sent to other states. Moreover, certain varieties have no demand in Bengal. If they are not sent out, they have to be discarded. In this situation, we faced administrative hurdles not only in sending potatoes to other states but also to nearby districts. Now that the state assured us of removing those obstacles, we have withdrawn the strike,” said a trader.