News on Potato Stats, Trade, Prices from Asia

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.

In 2023, a sharp increase in potato production is expected in Turkey, which is among the top 15 world’s largest exporters of the crop, according to Eastfruit Analysts.

A Japanese company has expressed interest to import potatoes from Bangladesh, said Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque. The minister said this while addressing a program at Westin Hotel in Tokyo on Thursday (April 27).

EastFruit reviewed trade data of Georgia (country) for seed potatoes. In Georgia many farmers have switched to onions for the new season as in the last season the onions from the June harvest were more profitable than the potatoes from the same period.

State-run Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation and private entity National Group Russia for Potato Export are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding today over the export of potato from Bangladesh to Russia.

India which is the second-largest producer of potatoes in the world has witnessed a bumper crop in the November–February harvest. And, the farmers are not quite happy with this as the oversupply has brought down the prices, making farmers incur losses.

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.

China is a potentially big market for Pakistani potato, because the price of potato in China is higher, especially from January to April every year.

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.

In Kazakhstan potato production increased by 11.9% in 2022. According to the Minister of Agriculture of the country, Kazakhstan can provide potatoes not only for the domestic market but also for the neighboring countries.

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.

Siddhi Vinayak Agri Processing Private Limited has signed MOU with farmers collectives which are supported under the World Bank and Govt of Assam seeded project for rural transformation named APART.

The global agri-food system has been struggling with a series of disruptions caused by various events including drastic climate variabilities, the global pandemic of Covid-19 outburst, and the recent among them is Russia-Ukraine war.

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.