Post Onion Pinch, Now It’s Ouch Potato For Odisha

Bhubaneswar: If soaring prices of onions were not enough to queer kitchen budgets, now potatoes in Odisha too have started acting pricey much to the woes of common consumers.

A kg of potatoes was reportedly selling over Rs 30 in several places in Odisha as against Rs 20 and Rs 25 a few days ago.

Traders blamed the price rise to unseasonal rain in potato growing areas like West Bengal from where Odisha imports the kitchen essential.

“Unseasonal rain had lashed West Bengal in the past couple of days and farmers are now unable to lift new crops due to the wet ground. The stock of old potatoes is not sufficient to meet the growing demand. Therefore, the price is rising,” said Debendra Sahu, secretary of Chhatra Bazaar Traders’ Association.

Besides, farmers in Odisha and Uttar Pradesh are unable to lift the new crops due to bad weather. It has led to the potato crisis, Sahu added.

“Now, we are waiting for favourable weather conditions to lift new crops. It will take about 15 days for new crops to reach the markets. Once the dry weather prevails, the price will become stable,” he said.