WB govt takes step to keep potato and onion price in check

West Bengal government today capped the potato price at Rs 14 a kg and initiated measures to keep vegetable price at check.
"The state government has decided to cap the price of potato at Rs 14 and will setup 27 fair price shops across 14 municipal markets of the city," chairman of the Forum of Traders Organisation (West Bengal), Rabindranath Kolay said after a meeting of the task force chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Kolay is a member of the task force on essential commodities formed by the state government.
Price of potato and onions had shot up sharply in the retail markets and prices of the tuber had touched Rs 20 a kg for the Jyoti variety and Rs 25 for the Chandramukhi variety.

Government would also keep tab on illegal speculative trading and check at the borders to stop illegal export of potato and onion from the state.
According to traders, onion prices were projected to jump to Rs 100 per kg by October as hailstorms and unseasonal rain along with a weak start of the Monsoons was blamed for the scarcity.

In October 2013, the state government had sold onions at Rs 36 a kg from few municipal markets when prices had zoomed past Rs 50 a kg and a similar price cap had been announced for potato at Rs 13 a kg.

But, effectively the commodity vanished from the markets as prices shot upto Rs 40 per kg during the October-November period.
Shops selling potato had downed shutters due to short supply and the state government had taken steps to restore partial supply with the help from the Cold Storage Association.