Since the beginning of March, the price of potato has dipped more than 16 per cent on account of higher production of the commodity in India this year. High arrivals have been reported in the mandis and that has kept the sentiments weak for the commodity in the spot and futures market.
Inadequate storage capacity in warehouses further aggravated the problems of storing the perishable commodity. Farmers were forced to take it out to the markets and that caused a high selling pressure.
Anand James, senior analyst at Geojit Comtrade, said, “This is the second year in a row that prices have fallen due to a good crop. The situation would improve only if the state procurement is active, or if export markets are found. At present, export markets find stiff competition from Australia and the US.”
At present, India exports potatoes to Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Nepal, Singapore and Kuwait. Potato production in West Bengal, one of the main producers, is expected to rise to 9.5-10 million tonnes this year, compared with 5.50 million tonnes last year.
Traders mention the storage capacity of warehouses is far less at 5.5-6 million tonnes. Latest reports do not indicate any incidence of blight disease, which caused damage to the crop last year. West Bengal has started transporting excess produce to other states such as Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Orissa, among others. The government there has also decided to purchase around 10 lakh tonnes from farmers to control falling prices.
Inadequate storage capacity in warehouses further aggravated the problems of storing the perishable commodity. Farmers were forced to take it out to the markets and that caused a high selling pressure.
Anand James, senior analyst at Geojit Comtrade, said, “This is the second year in a row that prices have fallen due to a good crop. The situation would improve only if the state procurement is active, or if export markets are found. At present, export markets find stiff competition from Australia and the US.”
At present, India exports potatoes to Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Nepal, Singapore and Kuwait. Potato production in West Bengal, one of the main producers, is expected to rise to 9.5-10 million tonnes this year, compared with 5.50 million tonnes last year.
Traders mention the storage capacity of warehouses is far less at 5.5-6 million tonnes. Latest reports do not indicate any incidence of blight disease, which caused damage to the crop last year. West Bengal has started transporting excess produce to other states such as Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Orissa, among others. The government there has also decided to purchase around 10 lakh tonnes from farmers to control falling prices.
