But most in the industry dismiss the government claims with disdain. “Instead of doing a drama on futures trading, government should fix a good minimum support price for potato in order to help farmers avert losses,” said Umesh Kumar, a trader here.
Potato is one of the most crucial crops in the world and government should take measures to lift its falling prices instead of getting into this gambling, he said. Prices of potatoes have fallen this year by 11 per cent from over a year ago, leaving farmers in the lurch, unable to even recover their production costs.
India annually produces around 24 million tonnes (MT) of potato. In 2007-08 (April-March) the country produced 29 MT of potatoes, up from 24.5 MT in the year ago period.
This year farmers are expecting another bumper crop but reports of late blight disease that affect the leaves and productivity, could lead to some crop loss in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
