Aardappelhandel uit West-Bengalen

West Bengal govt lifts interstate potato movement restrictions, easing trade for farmers. Move expected to improve market access, reduce local oversupply, and boost prices. Earlier curbs had limited sales outside state during peak harvests.

The state cabinet on Tuesday approved a minimum support price (MSP) of INR 900 (USD 10.8) for a quintal of potato after reports that farmers were forced to go for distress sale of the crop following bumper production this year.

Potato vendors and cold storage owners in West Bengal are unhappy after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ordered restrictions in the last week of November 2024 on selling produce to neighbouring States. It has led losses for all the stakeholders, they claim.

It is a versatile vegetable that finds itself in varied dishes and is an especially popular feature of cuisine in eastern states — aloo posto In West Bengal (or for that matter Kolkata biryani, which is defined by the potato), aloo chokha in Jharkhand

Faced with soaring potato prices, India secures a steady supply for three years by extending license-free imports from Bhutan.

Potato production in the current crop year is estimated to be 53.60 mt, down from 56.17 mt last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture's first estimate of horticulture production.

Predicting a bumper harvest of potato this season, the West Bengal Cabinet on Monday decided to allow cold storage owners to purchase at least 10 lakh (1 Million) metric tons of tuber from farmers at a fixed price, so that they do not have to suffer losses, a senior official said.

Higher potato prices are reported in various states of India (Punjab, West-Bengal), offering relief (Punjab) or even a windfall (West-Bengal) for farmers.

Potato supply from West Bengal was disrupted again with the authorities of the neighbouring state re-imposing transport restrictions from today (August 24, 2014), a week after Trinamool Congress (TMC) government there relaxed movement of this vegetable variety to Odisha.

To prevent rising prices of potato in the state, the West Bengal government has decided to continue a ban on its transportation to other states and abroad until normal situation was restored.

Potato prices are rising in North India due to a lack of supply

Bending over backwards following pressure from other states and agitations by traders' associations there, the West Bengal government Monday relaxed its ban on export of potatoes