BHUBANESWAR: Days ahead of the simultaneous Assembly and general elections, the soaring price of essential commodities is all set to become a political hot potato in Odisha, literally.
Keeping in pace with the day temperature in heatwave conditions, the price of common man’s most favoured vegetable potato has soared like anything in the state in last fortnight.
The retail price of the commodity has gone up by almost 50 per cent during the period. Potato, which was being sold at Rs 20 a kilo in the retail market in the first week of April, is now priced at Rs 30. The price in the local market suddenly soared from Rs 25 to Rs 30 the day before yesterday. In the wholesale market, potatoes are priced Rs 2,100 a quintal against Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 a fortnight back.
Onion, another essential item, has also gone pricey. It is now priced between Rs 26 to Rs 30 a kilo, up by 15 per cent in a week. Though the price of ginger and garlic has dropped slightly, those are still being sold at Rs 150 and Rs 200 a kg, respectively.
Market insiders said the prices of potato and onion are expected to rise further as the season progresses. They attributed the sudden rise to the inflated price in the source market as the production was hit due to lesser winter days.
General secretary of Odisha Byabasayee Mahasangha Sudhakar Panda said the price of potato in the state shot up after the commodity procured from Uttar Pradesh could not be viable post-winter. “Traders stopped procuring potatoes from UP as they rotted during transit due to hot and humid conditions. Now, we are fully dependent on West Bengal where the price has increased after the harvest season. Rise in maintenance cost of cold storages in the neighbouring state has also pushed the potato price up,” said Panda.
Odisha requires 13.5 lakh tonne of potato annually and produces only around 80,000 tonne. West Bengal meets around 90 per cent of the state’s potato requirement. Apart from Odisha, it also supplies to Assam and Andhra Pradesh. With elections in motion, people fear WB traders may take advantage of it and create an artificial demand and supply gap.
“The rising price has already upset the kitchen budget. Since elections and marriage season are ahead, no one can anticipate how much the price can go up. But WB traders will definitely try to cash in during the elections,” said Bubuna Nayak, a local retailer.