The new year has brought a pleasant surprise for those who were left reeling in 2009 from the potato price punch.

The household staple, which sold at Rs 35 per kg in the second half of 2009, stretching middle-class budgets and forcing the state government to offer it at Rs 13 a kg, is sliding steadily on the price graph.

On Monday, the price of a kg of potato in the retail market was Rs 9-Rs 10 and that of a sack (of 50 kg) in the wholesale market Rs 300-Rs 350.

“I had been buying potatoes in small quantities because of the high price. In the past seven days, the price has fallen considerably. I hope that potatoes do not again become unaffordable for the middle class,” said Mitali Chatterjee, a homemaker on BB Ganguly Street.

Agricultural marketing minister Mortaza Hossain told Metro that a repeat of 2009 was unlikely. “According to reports we are receiving from various farmers’ co-operatives, things are going to improve. The picture will become clearer in a week or so.”

In 2009, the state’s yield was 55 lakh tonnes against 88 lakh tonnes in 2008. The annual consumption of Bengal is 48 lakh tonnes and every year 5 lakh tonnes are kept aside as seeds.

A drop in potato production and hoarding pushed up the prices. In November, notun aloo (fresh harvest) was selling at Rs 30 per kg and the other varieties at Rs 20-22 a kg.

This year’s crop has started reaching the market. “Close to 300 trucks carrying hundred tonnes each are reaching the city daily now. The number will increase in the coming weeks,” said Gautam Sinha of the West Bengal Cold Storage Association and a wholesaler at Posta.

“The weather conditions are conducive to potatoes and farmers have taken all possible precautions this time,” said Satyabrata Mukherjee, the president of the West Bengal Cold Chain and Cold Storage Owners’ Welfare Association.

While potatoes and onions are providing a breather, there is no respite from the rising prices of sugar, pulses, flour, rice and garlic.

On Monday, sugar was selling at Rs 40 per kg while flour price had increased to Rs 18 per kg.