Potato prices set to drop in Odisha with new truck arrivals

Bhubaneswar, Dec 2: Potato prices in Odisha are expected to stabilize following the arrival of several truckloads of the staple vegetable in Bhubaneswar and Chhatra Bazaar, Cuttack, on Monday morning. Reports indicate that one truck carrying potatoes from Uttar Pradesh reached Chhatra Bazaar, while four trucks came from West Bengal. Additionally, between 10 and 12 trucks of potatoes from Uttar Pradesh arrived in Bhubaneswar.

Sudhakar Panda, general secretary of the Odisha Traders’ Federation, confirmed that the recent shipments included four trucks from West Bengal and one from Uttar Pradesh. He also mentioned that the government has announced plans to bring in 300 trucks of potatoes from Uttar Pradesh, which are expected to arrive throughout the day.

This development comes after the West Bengal government halted the transportation and sale of potatoes to Odisha on Friday, causing prices to surge to around Rs 50 per kilogram in several markets. Previously, the price ranged from Rs 30 to Rs 35 per kilogram.

In response to the situation, Food and Civil Supply Minister Krushna Chandra Patra assured that 300 trucks of potatoes from Uttar Pradesh would be distributed across the state on Monday. Meanwhile, officials from the Supply Department are conducting surprise inspections at the Unit 4 Market in Bhubaneswar and Chhatra Bazaar in Cuttack to regulate retail potato prices.