News on Potato Prices from Asia

Bangladesh Commerce Ministry, in a report, says high prices are the result of price manipulation by a syndicate of cold-storage owners.

What happens when Asia’s biggest potato chip maker runs out of potatoes? Japanese snack brand Calbee had to learn the hard way.

Frequent power outages in Bangladesh are driving up the costs of potato storage, ultimately burdening people already struggling with escalating prices of essential food items.

EastFruit analysts have repeatedly paid attention to the grave consequences of abnormally cold weather in Uzbekistan in January.

In 2022, the volume of imports of marketable potatoes to Uzbekistan decreased for the first time in the past few years.

Export data show that from January to September 2022, India exported about 153,000 tons of fresh or refrigerated potatoes suitable for the production of potato chips, an increase of 42% compared to last year.

According to the State Statistics Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan imported 404100 tonnes of potatoes worth USD 65.9 million from 16 countries in January-October 2022.

Relevant data show that from January to August 2022, China exported about 220,300 tons of fresh or refrigerated potatoes (except for seeds, the same below), an increase of about 2.57% compared with the same period last year.

Following the rise in prices that has been at the centre of disputes and protests all over Cyprus in recent weeks, potato farmers said on Thursday they will also take action if the government does not intervene to support them.

Potato prices continue to rise. At the Garak Market in Seoul on the 4th, a box of 20 kg of potatoes was sold at KRW 75,367 (about USD 58.48). Compared to the average value (48,105 won) from 2019 to 2021, it rose by 57%.

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.

According to EastFruit analysts, Uzbekistan may become one of the five largest potato importers in the world by the end of 2021. Following the results of 11 months, Uzbekistan has already set a new record of potato imports.

In a recent report USDA-FAS forecasts a fresh potato production in China of 94 million tons for marketing year 2021/22. This is a 5% decrease from the estimated 99 million tons in the previous year, a result of decreased acreage.

With retail potato prices rising sharply over April and May, the government of India has decided to permit the import of Potatoes from Bhutan without any license up to June 30, 2022.

The Georgian team of EastFruit analysts draws attention to the unusual situation in the Georgian potato market this season.

Cold storages full at 97% capacity; bumper crop drags prices of the spud down.

Potato cultivators in West Bengal were afraid they will face severe losses as the price of good quality seeds have skyrocketed even as the minimum support price (MSP) fixed has remained relatively low.

Retail prices of potatoes have risen marginally, given that farmers have been scrambling to stock up on the harvest, which has had a bumper production this year. This very bounty and the stockpiling is expected to keep potato prices stable over the next season.