Potato price dips 50% on good arrivals

Potato prices have slumped 50 per cent to Rs 5-6 a kg, from Rs 9-10 a kg, in the last 10 days owing to huge arrivals from different parts of the country. However, one surprising element is that in some parts, the prices are still being quoted much higher at around Rs 15 a kg, while in other areas Rs 5-6 a kg.

Currently, daily arrivals are around 100 trucks, each containing 15-18 tonne. In fact, the arrivals are about 25 trucks more than the daily consumption of the city.

Obviously, the market is in surplus today, vis-a-vis the scenario a month ago when the potato markets were hit by acute supply shortage and were, therefore, running out of stocks because of rains and floods in many parts of the country, a local trader said.

In the retail markets, potato prices vary depending on their distance from Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) and old stocks with retailers and wholesalers.

Despite having enough new potato stocks, wholesalers are selling old stock potato at premium rates as they are not ready to incur losses on the commodity bought at higher price.

This is the reason why old potato in Virar is selling at Rs 15 a kg, while in Andheri it is hovering around Rs 12 a kg. The prices of new potato are quoting between Rs 5 and Rs 7 a kg everywhere, the trader said.

Two days ago, potato prices were hovering around Rs 7-9 a kg as supplies at that time did not gather momentum.

Now the supply scenario has changed dramatically. Punjab is supplying to the city markets about 50 trucks or 50 per cent (total arrivals being 100 trucks) a day, while Uttar Pradesh is contributing around 10 trucks a day (10 per cent). Local supplies, that's from Maharashtra, are hardly 5 per cent, leaving the rest 35 per cent being supplied by Madhya Pradesh.

Potato prices are expected to remain range-bound at least in the near future as supplies will sustain the momentum and the Mumbai market will remain in surplus at least for some time now.

However, albeit marginal fluctuations, potato prices are not expected to decline further steeply in the near future.

Potato season starts in India in late November, but this year it is delayed because of floods in south India and excessive rains in some other parts of the country.

According to a leading trader at APMC Ramdas, arrivals of old potato are hardly two-three trucks everyday.

Old potato, which has limited demand "� mainly from hotels, is supplied only from Agra, which is expected to continue for a maximum period of seven-eight days. Thus, old potato is sold at a premium rate of around Rs 14-15 a kg.