Jamshedpur: Potato prices in the steel city rose sharply from Rs 10/kg on Saturday to Rs 15/kg on Sunday registering a 50 per cent hike in a single day. In Ranchi, tuber rates went up marginally from Rs 10 to Rs 12.

"I have been buying potato at Rs 10 per kg for the past one year. Its price remained the same even when onion was selling at Rs 50/kg around four months ago. I was quite surprised by the sudden hike," said Subodh Chaudhury, a Tata Steel employee who stays at Bistupur.

Sonari resident Rita Sharma said she was also taken aback by the hike. "Every year, some factor or the other causes potato prices to go up gradually. This was for the first time that its rate jumped from Rs 10 to Rs 15 in a day," said Sharma.

Shopkeepers are, however, selling the new variety at Rs 12/kg to Rs 13/kg since it's demand is much less compared to the old variety.

While the hike has pinched the pockets of consumers, potato sellers justified the rise. Shopkeeper Awadhesh Kumar Shao said they had no option since the price of the item at the wholesale market had spiralled. "Customers prefer the old variety of potatoes which was in short-supply. Sensing this, the wholesalers raised the price of a 50kg packet from Rs 300 to Rs 450. We had no option but to increase the rate," Shao, who runs a shop in Bistupur market, said.

On an average, 10 truckloads of potatoes come to the steel city from Bengal every day. On Saturday, only five trucks came. On Sunday, only four truckloads of the tuber were unloaded at Krishi Utpad Bazar Samiti at Parsudih from where its sold to city retailers.

Wholesaler Rajkumar Shah said prices have gone up because traders have started stocking the item in cold storages having bought it directly from farmers. "The stock of the old variety in cold storages has finished and traders are now filling the cold storages with the new produce. They would soon release the fresh stocks and sell it at higher prices," said Shah. He hinted that prices would spiral further in coming months.

In Ranchi, the wholesale rate of the new variety ( laal aaloo), which was priced between Rs 700 and Rs 850 per quintal on Friday, is now selling at Rs 800-Rs 1000. Similarly, the old variety (sada aaloo), which was priced between Rs 500 and Rs 600 per quintal, is now selling at Rs 700 to Rs 800.

In the retail market, prices have gone up by Rs 2 for both the variants. "I am selling the old variety at Rs 12 compared to Rs 10 last week. Lal aaloo, which was Rs 10, is now being sold at Rs 12 to Rs 13," said Vijay Kumar, a prominent seller at Harmu market.