Statesman News Service
MALDA, 31 AUG: The sudden increase in the price of potato and sugar has made the Malda district administration sit up. Intervening, the Malda SP Mr Satyajit Bandyopadhyay has asked the Malda Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce to send him the market rates of potato and sugar every day.
Traders speculate, the rate of potato would cross Rs 20 per kg before Id and the Pujas.
Potato sold between Rs 17 and Rs 18 in Malda in the last week of July although the district magistrate Mr Sridhar Ghosh had asked the MMCC to ensure that potato was sold at Rs 14 a kg.
According to a local trader, the going rate of the jyoti variety of potato is Rs 17 to 18 per kg and the rate of the pokhraj variety is between Rs 16 and 17 per kg.
“We are buying potato at the rate of Rs 16.50 per kg. We buy a 50 kg sack of potato and pay Rs 780-790 for it in wholesale, but actually each sack contains 48-49 kg potato only. Moreover, we have to pay Rs 10 per sack as carrying cost and therefore sell it for Rs 18 per kg,” said Muhammad Faruque, a retail potato seller in Netaji Super Market.
The traders also said that there was a crisis of potato in the market. The MMCC district secretary Mr Jayanta Kundu, however, rejected the claim.
The traders also said that there was a crisis of potato in the market. The MMCC district secretary Mr Jayanta Kundu, however, rejected the claim.
“The rate of potato is Rs 1,520 to 1530 per quintal in the wholesale market. Today, the wholesale market received more than 3,000 bags of potato.
The retail rate of potato should be between Rs 16.50 and 17.50 per kg,” he said.
According to him, the price of potato depends on its rate fixed in Burdwan. “The rate of potato would not increase before Id and Durga puja. But we apprehend an abnormal rise in the price of sugar,” he added.
The MMCC has been sending rates of 11 items (rice, flour, pulses, sugar, mustard oil, potato, onion and salt) to the Malda SP through the district enforcement branch regularly, he informed. 0
No comments:
Post a Comment