News on Potato Stats, Trade, Prices from Asia

Mr. Shaban Al-Nahar, Chairman of Beirut Erbil Company, visited the Dutch Consulate in Erbil to welcome Consul Adriaan IJsselstein. They discussed strengthening Iraq-Netherlands cooperation, focusing on advancing the potato sector with Dutch expertise.

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.

Calbee Group has partnered with the Shiretoko Shari Agricultural Cooperative to secure a stable supply of potatoes. As part of their collaboration, the agricultural cooperative plans to build a new frozen processing facility, aimed at enhancing production and ensuring consistent potato supply for Calbee's operations.

The Bangladesh Cold Storage Association (BCSA) has requested the government to suspend potato imports to protect the country's farmers from a financial disaster.

Indonesia, with over 275 million people, is poised to become the world’s 4th largest economy within the next decade. An early December Canadian trade mission, with strong representation from PEI’s potato industry, explored expanding Asian market opportunities to diversify exports and reduce reliance on shipping into the United States. 

The Union of Potato and Vegetable Growers of the Republic of Kazakhstan, summing up the results of 2024 noted an increase in the potato harvest and its stable export demand

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.

Tajikistan has achieved record potato production figures for the first 10 months of 2024 – 1 million 139 thousand 936 tons, which is 20.6% more than in the previous year.

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

The Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture announced a remarkable 47% increase in potato production in 2023, achieving a self-sufficiency rate of 86% with over 621,750 tons of potatoes produced compared to 423,770 tons in 2021.

Potato harvest has begun in Aksaray, one of Turkey's top 10 provinces for potato production, where 80 percent of the population earns a living from agriculture and animal husbandry. Aksaray ranks first in many areas of animal husbandry in the country.

In 2024, India's processing potato market saw significant price fluctuations, rising from INR 8/kg (USD 0.10/kg) in January to over INR 25/kg (USD 0.30/kg) due to varying demand and weather impacts, with expectations for stabilization in the coming months.

With domestic production down by 1.2 million tons, potato imports have become crucial as political unrest, a government change, and severe flooding further strain the situation.

The potato shortage in Odisha (India) has eased somewhat after the West Bengal government allowed the supply of potato to other states for a week. Experts suggest increasing local production by using HTPS seeds and improving storage facilities.

West Bengal's decision to halt potato supply to other states, particularly BJP-ruled ones, has triggered a political showdown, leading to shortages and price hikes in affected regions.

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

While the potato production was less this year, the heatwave made transportation a nightmare, with the supply rotting during the transit.

M S International - a major exporter of potatoes for processing - has received the prestigious FIEO (WR) Export Excellence Award in the Emerging Exporter (MSME) category for the year 2020-2021.