Comments
Potato prices in West Bengal have inched up by nearly nine per cent, with the tuber finding its way into the 400-odd cold storages across the State.
Wholesale price of potatoes (Jyoti variety) is ruling at Rs 500 a quintal this week, compared with Rs 460 a quintal during a week ago period.
According to Patit Paban De, member, West Bengal Cold Storage Association, a majority of cold storages in the State have opened their doors for storing the tuber. Nearly 55 per cent of the potatoes have already made their way into cold storages.
“Barring 20-22 storage units, which have been running at cash loss, others have commenced the process of loading potatoes following assurances from theState Government on the rental issue,” De told Business Line .
Nearly two-fifth of the 400-plus cold storages in the State had kept their doors shut for entry of potatoes till about ten days back, demanding a hike in rentals. The State had last raised the rentals for storage three years ago. This is even while storage costs, particularly for energy, witnessed a spike of almost 50 per cent, during the period.
While cold storages spend nearly Rs 150 for storing one quintal of potatoes during the storage season extending between mid-February and end-November, they get Rs 101 a quintal for storing those during the season.
Government buying
Potato production is estimated to be up by 12 per cent at nearly 95-98 lakh tonnes this year. According to De, the Government is likely to purchase nearly 50,000 tonnes of potatoes through Benfed this year.
“The Government has recently announced that they will spend nearly Rs 27 crore for procuring potatoes through Benfed. This will instill confidence in the market and will help keep the prices firm,” he said.
The traders and stockists who were till so far away from the market, in anticipation of a price crash due to supply glut, have also stepped in to stock the tuber.
Steady Demand
There has been a good demand for Bengal potatoes in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand.
“Bengal potatoes are comparatively cheaper compared with potatoes of other States such as Uttar Pradesh and the quality is also good. So they are finding acceptance in these markets,” he pointed out.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.