October 19: The prices of potatoes have increased by as much as 257 percent during the last six months due to the decline in domestic production. According to the daily price list of Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Committee, the price of red potato has increased the most (257 percent) during this period.

The average wholesale price of red potatoes, which was Rs 28 per kg in the third week of April, has now reached Rs 100. Consumers have to pay even more in the retail market. Consumers complain that they have to pay up to Rs 150 per kg for local red potatoes in retail shops.

In these six months, the price of red potatoes imported from India has also increased by 92 percent. In the third week of April, the price of red potatoes from India increased to Rs 45 from Rs 25 per kg.

Similarly, the average price of potatoes produced in Mude has also increased by 136 percent from Rs 33 to Rs 75 per kg. Similarly, the price of white potatoes has increased by 239 percent from Rs 23 to Rs 75 per kg.

The consumers are bearing the brunt of the price hike in the wholesale market as the impact trickles down to the retail market as well.

Sarita Nepali from Kirtipur shared that they go to retail stores at their doorstep instead of the wholesale market. “Even the least expensive potatoes cost Rs 80 to Rs 100 per kg,” said Nepali. Potatoes are the most used vegetable in the kitchen because they are compatible with all kinds of vegetables.

Nepali said that now that the price has skyrocketed, she has reduced the use of potatoes.

According to Gita Prasad Acharya, president of Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Committee, the prices of potatoes skyrocketed due to the decline in domestic production. He informed that the concerned authorities have started importing potatoes from the Indian market to meet the demand.

Acharya added that the price will come down only after locally-grown potatoes start coming to the market likely in the last week of November. Currently, about 50 percent of the potatoes entering the Kalimati wholesale market are imported from India and Bhutan.

Sandip Subedi, a horticultural development officer at the National Center for Potato, Vegetable and Spice Crops Development, says that even though the production has doubled compared to 15 years ago, the country is yet to become self-sufficient in potatoes due to the increasing demand and consumption of potatoes in Nepal. He says that the main reason for the relatively low production is the lack of quality seeds and fertilizers. In general, potatoes produced in Nepal meet 90 percent of the total market demand. According to government data, the remaining 10 percent is imported from abroad.

According to the center, 3,325,000 thousand metric tons of potatoes were produced in 198,000 hectares of land in the fiscal year 2077/78. The data of the Department of Customs shows that 342,000 tons of potatoes were imported from abroad that year.