West Bengal’s potato export ban backfires as traders threaten strike

West Bengal traders have reportedly intensified their protests over the Mamata Banerjee government’s decision to halt potato exports to all states, including Odisha, with threats of launching a possible strike.

West Bengal traders have called for a state-wide strike on Tuesday. The announcement came after a meeting of cold storage owners, wholesale traders, and various organizations on Saturday.

According to the traders' association, the state government is not permitting the export of potatoes to other states, leading to financial losses for them. Additionally, they claimed that around 7 lakh metric tons of potatoes were currently lodged at several cold storage facilities across West Bengal against the state’s demands of only 5 metric tonnes.

ALSO READ: Potato crisis returns to haunt Odisha again? Several trucks stranded on West Bengal border

As such, the traders expressed their confusion over the government’s decision to ban all exports despite a surplus.

The latest development comes about three days after several potato-laden trucks were stranded at the Odisha-West Bengal border near Belda following the Mamta Banerjee government’s decision to halt exports and deny the trucks permission to cross over.

Taking cognizance of the matter, the Odisha Food and Civil Supplies Minister, Krushna Chandra Patra, announced on Saturday that it will not request the West Bengal government for shipment of potatoes and has instead arranged procurements of the tuber from states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

ALSO READ: Potato-laden trucks stranded at WB border: Odisha Food Supplies Minister targets Naveen Patnaik

Meanwhile, these circumstances led to unrest and tension prevailing among West Bengal traders who have raised concerns that the surplus may now face a risk of being damaged.