News on Potato Stats, Trade, Prices from India

As weather in West-Bengal, India turns unfavourable, output falls sharply and potato prices shoot up.

India's Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi announced today that he will be addressing the 3rd Global Potato Conclave at Gandhinagar, Gujarat through remote video conferencing tomorrow i.e 28th of January 2020.

Potato prices are likely to remain firm this year because of a fall in acreage for the new crop in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, the two top producing states.

Potato prices in West Bengal have firmed up by nearly 44 per cent over the last two months on the back of steady demand from other States.

Potato prices in West Bengal have firmed up by nearly 9 per cent in the last two months, a development caused by a steady demand from neighbouring states.

The West Bengal state government is providing transport subsidy for the benefit of potato farmers, businessmen and cold storage owners, for exporting potatoes to other states.

Snacks and beverages manufacturer PepsiCo plans to invest $5 million by 2020 to expand its sustainable farming programme in India.

In an effort to limit the spread of the Potato Cyst Nematode, the government of India has prohibited the movement of seed potatoes from Himachal, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and Jammu Kashmir to other states

Potato prices in India are not going to come down in the near future as the production of the crop has been reportedly around 20 per cent lower this year in potato growing states.

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

Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the Indian federal government was planning to draw a sustainable roadmap to keep soaring prices of staples tomato, onion and potato under control.

The potato production in West Bengal is expected to drop from last year’s 11 million tonne to 8-10 million tonnes in 2018, but is unlikely to impact the price, officials said.

Four months after farmers dumped potatoes on road in Mohali and other parts of the Indian state Punjab, seeking remunerative price for their potato crop, state government has allowed the staple food’s export to Russia and the Middle East.

Potato farmers in the Indian state Punjab are headed for another season of dwindling profits because the cold storage facilities are still flooded with old crop - and several other states are in a similar situation.

In India, the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) is starting the production of frozen French Fries in October of this year. They have set up shop in North Gujarat, close to McCain Foods India and Hyfun Frozen Foods

Last Wednesday in Delhi, potato farmers from Uttar Pradesh handed out free potatoes to the public in protest against the steeply falling prices of the vegetable in Agra.

With their product rotting, potato growers in Indian East Punjab are suffering huge losses and Jalandhar Potato Growers Association (JPGA) has demanded urgent export of potatoes to Pakistan and availability of express rail rakes for transporting their produce to southern states.

The potato production in India is estimated to be around 47 million tonnes for this crop year, just behind the all-time high witnessed in 2014.