A shocking paradox is unfolding in Uttar Pradesh: farmers are dumping piles of fresh potatoes on roadsides because they can’t sell them, yet retail prices in cities remain stubbornly high at ₹30–35/kg, leaving consumers frustrated and farmers devastated.
Why are farmers dumping potatoes?
Overproduction in UP’s main potato belts, coupled with inadequate cold storage space and a sudden drop in mandi prices, has forced desperate farmers to offload their harvests. Many report getting offers of just ₹2–4/kg at wholesale markets, far below their cost of cultivation.
But why are consumers paying more?
Middlemen and traders are hoarding stocks in cold storages, releasing them in small quantities to keep retail prices inflated. This artificial scarcity ensures big profits for intermediaries, while both farmers and shoppers lose out.
Experts say:
“Cold storage owners and traders are creating a bottleneck, buying cheap from farmers and selling high to retailers,” says agri-economist S. Chaudhary. “This is a classic case of market manipulation.”
Impact on households:
Urban families are spending more on potatoes — a staple in most Indian meals — even as social media fills with heartbreaking videos of farmers tossing potatoes in protest.
Bottom line:
This potato madness highlights deep flaws in India’s farm-to-market system. Unless the government steps in to regulate hoarding and improve storage infrastructure, farmers will keep losing while consumers keep paying more.