Potato Prices Double Up In Delhi As A Result Of Farmers’ Agitation

The national capital may find it hard to satiate it love for aloo over the next few days as the price for the beloved root vegetable has doubled and gone up from INR 10/kg to INR 20/kg, as a result of the ongoing farmers’ protest all over the country.

“Supply of potatoes has decreased rapidly due to the ongoing farmer’s agitation because of which the prices of potato have shot up from INR 300 – INR 400 to INR 500 – INR 600 per 50 kg tray”, Bhushan Yadav, a commission worker, was quoted by Asian Age.

However, prices of other vegetables and fruits remain unchanged. Various traders have confirmed that there has been no major impact on the price chart as the supply is stable.

“There is no major impact on the prices of onion. We need to thank the Madhya Pradesh government for its initiation to include onion with three other Rabi crops under the Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana (BBY), a price deficiency payment scheme,” an Azadpur Mandi-based trader said. For the uninitiated, under the BBY when prices drop below the minimum support price (MSP), the government steps in to pay the difference between the MSP and a modal rate, which is a rate worked out by taking the average of selling price in the mandis in three states over a specific period of time.

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Meanwhile, in Delhi, the chief secretary of the State Government held a meeting to discuss the impact of the protest on the city’s food market. “It was informed by the secretaries of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) that there has been a negligible impact of the farmers’ agitation on the supply of the essential commodities in Delhi. The total arrival and prices have been steady,” the government said in a statement, while also admitting that the tomato supply had been “slightly impacted.”

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