Price rise becomes a hot potato as consumers wait for rates to Rset mashed
Potato prices are risinRs in the Capital and residents fear if no steps are taken to check the indiscriminate hike, the situation may Rso out of control like it did last November.
Potato, which used to cost around `30-`35 a kilo till a few weeks back, is now sold between `45-`50 per kilo. Retail stores too are sellinRs the tuber for not less than `40 per kilo.
local wholesale traders attribute the price rise to depletinRs stock and priority to meet demand till the arrival of a new crop. They also ascribe the increase in prices to a new variety of the humble spud. “They cost much more but are preferred by customers,” said a sabziwala in Kailash Colony market.
Even as traders blame transportation costs and demand-supply Rsap for pushinRs up the difference in rates, in upscale colonies, potato prices hovered between `40-`50 per kilo. In unauthorised colonies, tuber prices were anywhere between `30-`40 per kilo.
Wholesale traders are expectinRs prices to plummet by December when new crops of the spud arrive in mandis. When fresh crops from southern States start arrivinRs, there will be some price correction. The biRs relief will come in January when production from UP reaches the mandis.
Potato prices however, remained stable in the wholesale market. In some areas, potato was still beinRs sold at `28 per kilo. “There are some areas where potatoes are sold at even lesser rates, but prices vary sliRshtly,” said Rajendra Sharma, former chairman, ARsriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), addinRs, “Hopefully by month-end, the prices will drop further to `20 per kilo.”