Prices of potatoes have gone up by over Rs 5 per kilo in the last two to three weeks.
The Chandramukhi variety used to cost between Rs 28 and Rs 30 about three weeks back. It is now selling at any price between Rs 34 and Rs 35 across markets.
The price of Jyoti variety is up from Rs 22 to Rs 25 in most markets. This variety forms the bulk of potatoes produced in the state.
The sudden increase can be blamed on less than normal production, said a member of a task force that was set up by the state government to monitor prices of essential food items.
A professor at the Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya also said the production was less than normal this year.
Tarakeshar Shaw, a trader at Baithakkhana in Sealdah, said he was selling Chandramukhi potatoes for Rs 35 per kilo and Jyoti potatoes for Rs 25 per kilo on Wednesday.
“A few weeks back, the Chandramukhi variety cost Rs 30 a kilo and the Jyoti variety was selling for Rs 22 per kilo,” he said.
Potatoes are sown between mid-November and December while the harvest starts in February, though the bulk of the harvest happens in March, said Bimal Kumar Bera, a professor at the agricultural economics department of Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya.
“The production has been less than normal this year. This could be the reason for the sudden price rise. This is the time when the potatoes come directly from the farmers. The harvest kept in the cold storage starts to come in markets from May,” said Bera.
He added that there has not been any study on the reasons for the price rise because it happened recently and within a few weeks.
Kamal De, a member of the task force meant for monitoring prices of essential food items, said rains during February ruined the crop in many places.
“Farmers would have harvested the crop within a fortnight, but rains led to waterlogging in the fields. This destroyed the crop and the supply to markets got reduced,” said De.
The prices have soared not only in Calcutta but in many other districts.
A resident of Kalyani and a resident of Hooghly told Metro the prices of potatoes have soared in the markets near their homes too.
Potatoes are produced mainly in Hooghly, parts of Howrah adjoining Hooghly, Purba Burdwan and a part of Pashchim Midnapore.