Potato traders are angry with the government order, fear of further price hike

Open the freezer. But potatoes are not coming out! Due to the strike called by the traders, there is a fear that the price of potatoes will increase in the market again. If the supply does not increase, the price of potatoes may increase starting Tuesday. The Progressive Potato Traders Association has called for a strike after coming under pressure from the government to reduce the price of potatoes following Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s order. They alleged that trucks loaded with potatoes are being stopped at various borders of the state without any written instructions to reduce the price of potatoes by increasing the supply in the market.

In protest against this, the businessmen’s organisation decided to go on strike on Saturday. The freezer is already closed on Sundays. But even though cold storages were opened in various places on Monday, potatoes are not being removed due to the strike. The amount of potatoes that were removed from the cold storage last Saturday is also almost at its end in the market. In this situation, there is a fear that the potatoes stocked by the retailers will be sold at higher prices. After the Chief Minister’s strict directives, the price of other grains fell due to administrative action, but there was no significant change in the price of potatoes.

Jyoti potato has been hovering around Tk 32–33 per kg and Chandramukhi potato at Tk 38–40 per kg in the open market of Hooghly, Burdwan, for the past few days. Buyers feel that if the price increases further, it will not be affordable for the average person. The chief minister ordered to increase the supply in the market and reduce the price of potatoes. Again, if the cold storage is quickly emptied while increasing the supply of potatoes, there may be a crisis at the end of the year. Then again, the price of potatoes will touch the sky.

The strike, however, had no effect on Monday at the Ratanpur cold store, near the home of state agriculture marketing minister Becharam Manna. Prahlad Mandal, co-editor of the Singur-Ratanpur Potato Traders Association, said, “We support the reason why the Progressive Potato Traders Association has called for a strike. But we kept the market open, thinking about the common people. Otherwise, the price of potatoes will go up. The government should intervene in the matter to solve the problem and arrange for the release of the trucks that are stuck.”

The state government, however, plans to sell potatoes through ‘Sufal Bangla’ stalls to rein in prices. East Burdwan District Commissioner Radhika Iyer said, “We have already opened Sufal Bangla stalls in different parts of the district.” Regarding the demand to send potato carts to foreign states, the District Commissioner said, “We are doing what is according to the rules of the state government.”