November 2: The price of potato has increased by 100 percent in the wholesale market. According to the records kept by the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Committee, the price of potato has increased by 100 percent this year compared to the corresponding period of last year.

According to the available data, the price of potato was very less during last year than this year. Currently, the price of red potatoes imported from India is Rs 68 per kilogram, which is 100 percent more than the price of last year.

Data kept by the committee show that the price of red potatoes from India was Rs 34 per kg on November 2 last year.

The price of red potatoes grown in Nepal is Rs 91 per kilogram at present. The current price is 45 percent more than last year’s price of home-grown red potatoes, when the cost of such local potatoes was Rs 63 per kg.

Information officer at the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Committee, Binaya Shrestha, informed that there is no additional demand for potatoes in the market but the price is still high because it will take some time for the locally produced potatoes to be available in the market.

He added that the price of potatoes has increased in the Indian market as well, which has also affected the price in Nepal.

“India is the main supplier of potatoes to Nepal during this season. As the price has increased in India, it is obvious that the price will increase in Nepal,” said Shrestha, adding that the price of potatoes will go down from mid-November onwards when adequate amount of locally produced potatoes will be available in the market.

Meanwhile, consumers complain that the retailers have been fixing the prices of potatoes arbitrarily as the wholesale price itself is exorbitantly high. It has been found that the retail stores in Kirtiour, Balkhu and Kalanki have been selling potatoes at a price which is Rs 40 more per kg than the wholesale price.