Potato News from West Bengal

It is a versatile vegetable that finds itself in varied dishes and is an especially popular feature of cuisine in eastern states — aloo posto In West Bengal (or for that matter Kolkata biryani, which is defined by the potato), aloo chokha in Jharkhand

SV Agri conducted its annual variety show featuring Ganesh variety of potatoes, attracting key stakeholders from the chips processing industry. 

The potato shortage in Odisha (India) has eased somewhat after the West Bengal government allowed the supply of potato to other states for a week. Experts suggest increasing local production by using HTPS seeds and improving storage facilities.

West Bengal's decision to halt potato supply to other states, particularly BJP-ruled ones, has triggered a political showdown, leading to shortages and price hikes in affected regions.

Faced with soaring potato prices, India secures a steady supply for three years by extending license-free imports from Bhutan.

Koelnmesse India, a wholly owned subsidiary of Koelnmesse GmbH, and the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) have joined hands in a landmark collaboration for the upcoming Anuga Select India 2024.

The Agriculture department of Government of West Bengal has started potato cultivation with Apical Rooted Cutting (ARC) process at the Centre of Floriculture and Agri-Business Management (COFAM) department of the University of North Bengal in Siliguri.

The World Mithai Expo 2023 in Kolkata hosted more than 350 exhibitors and approximately 50000 visitors and delegates from across India and beyond.

The state Agriculture department of West Bengal (India) recently set a target of attaining self-sufficiency in the production of seed potato by 2030. CIP is supporting the effort with their technology

PepsiCo and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) acknowledged and awarded six women farmers as part of its ‘Women’s Land Rights and Economic Empowerment’ activity in West Bengal.

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.

Cold storages full at 97% capacity; bumper crop drags prices of the spud down.

Potato cultivators in West Bengal were afraid they will face severe losses as the price of good quality seeds have skyrocketed even as the minimum support price (MSP) fixed has remained relatively low.

Retail prices of potatoes have risen marginally, given that farmers have been scrambling to stock up on the harvest, which has had a bumper production this year. This very bounty and the stockpiling is expected to keep potato prices stable over the next season.

Predicting a bumper harvest of potato this season, the West Bengal Cabinet on Monday decided to allow cold storage owners to purchase at least 10 lakh (1 Million) metric tons of tuber from farmers at a fixed price, so that they do not have to suffer losses, a senior official said.

Blaming the federal government for the steep hike in prices of essential commodities, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal alleged that the prices were rising as the Centre has snatched away the state's power.

The Kolkata state government (India) had given seven days time to potato traders to lower its wholesale price to Rs 22 per kg so that it can be sold at Rs 25 per kg.

As weather in West-Bengal, India turns unfavourable, output falls sharply and potato prices shoot up.