Potato News from India

ITC Ltd's operating profit from its fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) business excluding cigarettes jumped three-and-a-half times to Rs 43 crore during the January-March quarter from Rs 11.87 crore in the corresponding period a year ago

The price of potato in some markets in India has jumped 25 per cent in the past four days, due to reports of massive damage of the harvested crop from inclement weather.

The agri division of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, part of the $16.7 billion Mahindra Group, today signed a joint venture agreement with HZPC Holland to offer the best quality seed potatoes to farmers within and outside India.

HZPC Holland bv, wereldleider in aardappelveredeling, heeft vandaag in India met de Mahindra-groep (jaaromzet $16,7 miljard) in Chandigarh een overeenkomst getekend voor de oprichting van een gezamenlijke onderneming.

Vegit, the agro division of the Rs 950 crore Merino Group which offers ready-to-cook packaged foods, plans to raise capacity of potato flakes facility by 50 per cent to meet growing demand.

Balaji Wafers Pvt. Ltd is in advanced talks with Capital International Private Equity Funds (CIPEF) to sell nearly 15% in the snacks maker according to two people familiar with the development, who did not want to be named.

Potato production in West Bengal is likely to be lower by 10-15 per cent on ‘late blight’ in a quarter of the growing districts.

A market that's growing 30% annually, and can grow even faster, a business big enough to accommodate giant western MNCs and small Indian startups, a supply chain that allows mouth-watering margins to all players and a product that many consumers, adults or children, find addictive — selling frozen French fries in India is a sizzling business that's set to sizzle even more.

Wintech Taparia Limited ( formerly Frigoscandia Winner Food Process Systems Ltd),India has celebrated 25 years of operations in food processing & packaging solutions.

The continued accumulation of heavy frost on plants for the past few days is feared to have damaged 75% of the tomato crop in the district of Karnal, while potato growers may have suffered losses over 20%.

India has long had a reputation as being unfriendly to foreign businesses, but when it comes to fast food, international chains are being warmly welcomed by a young, upwardly mobile population.

Agristo signed an agreement with West Coast Fine Foods for the distribution of its frozen potato Products in India

The government of the Indian State Uttar Pradesh is giving a final shape to its proposed potato development Policy. Uttar Pradesh is looking to augment potato production by 35 percent to achieve 18 million tonnes

Even though farmers in Koraput district have decided to take up potato farming in wake of the recent potato crisis, there are not enough stock of potato seeds in the district.

India Times reports that Pizza Hut is to introduce a potato topping at an outlet in the city Vadodara after extensive market research.

PepsiCo Inc, the maker of Pepsi-Cola, Frito-Lay snacks and Tropicana juice, plans to invest $5.5 billion in India by 2020 to expand its presence in the country, it said on Monday.

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

Since potato prices in West Bengal are fixed by state government, smuggling of potatoes to surrounding Indian states that do not have fixed potato prices has become a major issue.