Potato prices have been rising in the last two months. This is associated with low market supply from potato farming regions.
In a good year, potato farmers do three seasons in a year. But this year it was not a good one. This year, the first and second seasons did not do well due to a prolonged drought that affected the yield.
Rush by farmers to sell their yields before elections to avoid market uncertainties caused by-elections. This led to potato flooding in the market and hence prices falling to less than KES 1000 per 50 kg bag.
After the elections, agricultural markets stabilized, and the market supply declined with increased demand which pushed the prices up to almost KES 7000 per 50 KG bag.
The shortage was worse such that retailers had switched to selling in kilos rather than per tin. This was the only method they could make a profit.
Since there will never be a vacuum in the market traders turned to cheap and viable imports from Tanzania. The quality was low and did not attract much demand as consumers turned to other supplements such as arrow roots and bananas.
Also to meet the high demand, farmers in potato-producing regions increased their acre range and have already started harvesting.
Harvesting is expected to reach optimal in this month of December. This explains the current price decline. Read Also: How to get high yields in maize farming
Currently, potatoes are trading at an average price of KES 4000 per 50 KG bag in most markets and prices are expected to continue declining until January 2023.
