Potato prices rise by 14% in June-Sept '08

The wholesale price of potatoes shot up significantly by 14.29 per cent to Rs 241.5 a quintal during June-September of the current calendar year, the government informed Parliament today. “The movement of monthly wholesale price index for potatoes during January-September 2008 shows that prices have decreased from January-June, and thereafter continued to increase,” the Minister for State for Agriculture Kanti Lal Bhuria said in a written reply.

Noting potato prices fluctuate depending upon the availability and demand, the minister said that prices fall when new crop arrives in the market. Bhuria said cost of production of potato in Himachal Pradesh, which is highest in the country, is reducing over the years.