Potato News from India

With their product rotting, potato growers in Indian East Punjab are suffering huge losses and Jalandhar Potato Growers Association (JPGA) has demanded urgent export of potatoes to Pakistan and availability of express rail rakes for transporting their produce to southern states.

According to reporting in the India Times, the state government of Uttar Pradesh (India) will soon begin the works of setting up a potato processing unit in the Agra district.

The potato production in India is estimated to be around 47 million tonnes for this crop year, just behind the all-time high witnessed in 2014.

Potato Flakes are commonly used in households worldwide for convenient preparation of Instant Mash Potato. Industrial
food processors also use potato flakes as an ingredient in the production of potato snack foods.

A day after a potato farmer allegedly committed suicide after suffering heavy losses, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said the West Bengal govt will purchase 28,000 tonnes of potatoes for government meal programs in health centers and schools

Gujarat's Banaskantha district has mashed Agra (Uttar Pradesh) in potato production, taking the No. 1 rank in India.

The Hassan Horticulture Research Extension Station of the University of Horticultural Sciences-Bagalkot (UHS-B) in Karnataka, India, is all set to introduce 35 new varieties of potatoes in the next one to three years.

Potato farming in the Indian state Gujarat has reached an all-time high with over 18 per cent more planting compared to last year.

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.

Despite a fresh crop arriving at the wholesale market in Vashi (Mumbai area), retail prices of potatoes show no decline

MHZPC, a 60:40 JV of Mahindra Agri Solutions Limited (MASL) and HZPC, today inaugurated its modern and state-of-the-art Aeroponic facility in Mohali. The new facility will produce the best of its kind seed potatoes by using an innovative process and latest technology.

On August 28, the Indian manufacturer of French Fries and Potato Specialties HyFun Foods held its grand formal inauguration of its new production plant.

Bikanervala Foods Pvt. Ltd, which sells Indian sweets and savouries under the brand Bikano, has initiated discussions with private equity funds to raise as much as Rs.200 crore [PP: about 30 million USD], said two people familiar with the development.

The government of India today imposed minimum export price (MEP) of USD 360 per tonne on potato to increase domestic availability and cool prices.

Potato shortages put consumers in the Indian State Odisha and the Odisha State government in trouble year after year. Now the Odisha State Government has announced an ambitious plan to cultivate potato in 25,000 hectares of land.

Aiming to boost potato exports, the Indian government is considering identifying ‘pest-free zones’ for the staple in production clusters of the growing states like Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Lack of rain has left potato growers of Hassan - a district in the Southern Indian state of Karnataka in distress.

When CIP staff first arrived in Jodhpur things felt familiar. The arid landscape, the water table, and the warm days that fed into cool evenings were reminiscent of Gujarat - India’s most productive potato growing state, except that at Jodhpur and Jaisalmer district runs along the Pakistan border no potatoes were grown.