Odisha may procure potatoes from Punjab

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government may procure potatoes from Punjab to improve supplies and reduce prices of the tuber. The price of potatoes continued to remain high at Rs 45 per kg even after procurement from Uttar Pradesh, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra told reporters.

The price of the tuber has increased in Odisha due to “inadequate” supply from neighbouring West Bengal. “We are now procuring potatoes from Uttar Pradesh. If needed, we will import from Punjab,” Patra said. The minister denied the allegation that the potatoes from Uttar Pradesh are not as good as West Bengal.

“It is not true that the potatoes from Uttar Pradesh are not of good quality. The Uttar Pradesh potatoes are much better than that of Bengal and the price difference due to transportation costs is also Re 1. Odisha can procure the tuber from any other State, including Punjab, to meet its demand,” the minister said on Monday. Potatoes from both Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal continued to sell at Rs 40 per kg in Chhatra Bazar, a major wholesale market in Cuttack, on Monday.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had recently met his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee in New Delhi and requested her to streamline potato supply to the State. However, the price continued to remain high in Odisha markets due to the “erratic supply of potatoes from West Bengal”, sources said.