After onion, the poor man's vegetable better known as potato is getting dearer with every passing day in the national Capital. Potato that was normally sold between Rs 10 to Rs 15 per kilo last year during the same period, has now become ‘hot potato’, and is being sold at Rs 45-Rs 50 a kilo in some parts of the Capital.
On the other hand, the onion is being sold between Rs 55 and Rs 60 a kilo. Hoarders are making merry at the mercy of common man as a huge stock of potatoes kept in cold storage has hit the market.
The winter crop of the potato is still some 45 days. Till fresh supplies from the fields come to the market, the spud will keep pinching the consumers. The delay in the new crop of the tuber is being felt in the States where it is a major crop.
“People will have to bear this scarcity in the supplies for another 20 days. This had led to traders going for potatoes stored in cold storage in the neighbouring States to meet the supply demand,” market analysts say. The total consumption of potato is estimated between 2,000-2,500 tonnes per day and Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are the main suppliers in Delhi.
Potato price has shot up from Rs 25 per kilo last week to Rs 50 a kilo in retail markets in the city. Strangely, the wholesale prices are hovering between Rs 14-Rs 18 a kilo in Azadpur mandi on Tuesday while retail prices are between Rs 40 and Rs 50 per kilo.
The retail price of potato in Safdarjung Enclave in South Delhi has touched Rs 50 per kilo while retail price in Hauz Khas, Malviya Nagar and South Extension was between Rs 40-Rs 45 a kilo.
In trans Yamuna area such as Yamuna Vihar, laxmi Nagar, Preet Vihar, Priyadarshini Enclave, Madhuban Chowk, the potato is being sold at Rs 40 a kilo. In Ashok Vihar, the price was between Rs 40-Rs 45 a kg. The price of potato in neighbouring Ghaziabad is hovering around Rs 35 to Rs 40 per kilo.