The retail price of potato in Mumbai and its suburbs has gone up to Rs 45 per kg, depending upon the quality. Going by what the traders at the wholesale market in Vashi have to say, there will be no respite in its price in days to come. The price will come down only after fresh crops hit the market in November.
The Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) in Vashi is receiving hardly 25 per cent supply of the total supply of potatoes for the last month. Due to the rains, most of them are wet and cannot be stored for a long time.
Ashok Walunj, director of the onion and potato market in Vashi, said that there is only one fourth the supply of potatoes. “Normally, the market used to get around 80 trucks loaded with potatoes, which has come down to just 20 to 22 trucks,” said Walunj. He added that there is a very low possibility of the price coming down in a month, mainly due to crops getting damaged last year due to excessive rainfall and its supply being affected by the pandemic.
At present, the wholesale price of potatoes is Rs 24 per kg. “A retailer cannot sell below Rs 40 per kg. Since potato is perishable once it is out of the cold storage, retailers have to bear the cost if it perishes due to delay in sale,” said Walunj.
According to Walunj, there is no export of potatoes at the moment. “We cannot even blame export for the price. We have to accept that there was low yield and the price will come down only after new crops arrive in the market,” said Walunj.
Mumbai receives most of the supplies from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Gujarat. “Uttar Pradesh is one of the major potato growing states in India. However, the stock of cold storage there is less than last year,” said a potato trader from APMC, Vashi. He added that, currently, Mumbai is getting most of its supply from Gujarat.
“Potato from Uttar Pradesh is always the first choice because of its quality. Since there is very little or no supply, we have to depend upon Gujarat to meet the demand,” said the trader.
According to traders, this year, the prices had begun rising in February. However, its heat is being felt now. “Every year, during monsoon, there is a rise in the price of all the vegetables, including potatoes. This year, it is little more due to poor yield,” added the trader.
