News on Potato Stats, Trade, Prices from West Bengal

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.

Even though the ban by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on sale of potatoes to other states over the past three years has been lifted, cases of farmer suicides, which some say may have been driven by the fear of heavy losses, are still being reported.

A bumper crop, coupled with weak demand from other States, has led to a free-fall in potatoes prices in West Bengal.

Domestic potato production in India in the present Rabi season is likely to be 25-30 per cent higher over last year on account of good weather conditions.

Potato supply from West Bengal was disrupted again with the authorities of the neighbouring state re-imposing transport restrictions from today (August 24, 2014), a week after Trinamool Congress (TMC) government there relaxed movement of this vegetable variety to Odisha.

To prevent rising prices of potato in the state, the West Bengal government has decided to continue a ban on its transportation to other states and abroad until normal situation was restored.

Potato prices are rising in North India due to a lack of supply

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