Indian Government removes Minimum Export Price (MEP) of Potatoes

The government of India Tuesday removed the minimum export price (MEP) of potato, which was imposed in July, to boost shipments of the kitchen staple.

“Export of potatoes, fresh or chilled, should be permitted for exports without any MEP,” Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

In July, the government had imposed MEP of USD 360 (about 24,500 INR) per tonne on potato to increase domestic availability and cool prices.

Although India was the world’s second largest potato producer at 48 million tonnes (mt) in 2014-15, its exports were less than one per cent of the output.

India exported 0.18 mt of potato in financial year 2015-16, which was lower than 0.30 mt in the previous year.