The price of potatoes has seen a near 40 per cent year-on-year decline in Bengal mostly because of a bumper crop.
Increased flow of stock from Uttar Pradesh and Punjab has also led to weak demand from neighbouring consumer States such as Odisha, further contributing to the decline in prices.
Production is expected to be nearly 22 per cent higher than last year at 110,000 lakh tonnes (90 lakh tonnes last year), according to trade sources. The Agriculture Ministry, in its first advance estimates for 2016-17, has pegged the output in West Bengal at 84.27 lakh tonnes (see Table).
The price of the early variety of tuber is trading at around ₹150 per 50-kg at the cold storage levels. Last year, prices varied between ₹250 and ₹300 for the early variety of tuber. Later, around February 2016, prices fell to around ₹160.
According to trade sources, cold storages have been hoarding stocks since last December anticipating higher prices (this season) as well as increased demand from neighbouring States.
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