Potato News from India

The continued accumulation of heavy frost on plants for the past few days is feared to have damaged 75% of the tomato crop in the district of Karnal, while potato growers may have suffered losses over 20%.

India has long had a reputation as being unfriendly to foreign businesses, but when it comes to fast food, international chains are being warmly welcomed by a young, upwardly mobile population.

Agristo signed an agreement with West Coast Fine Foods for the distribution of its frozen potato Products in India

The government of the Indian State Uttar Pradesh is giving a final shape to its proposed potato development Policy. Uttar Pradesh is looking to augment potato production by 35 percent to achieve 18 million tonnes

Even though farmers in Koraput district have decided to take up potato farming in wake of the recent potato crisis, there are not enough stock of potato seeds in the district.

India Times reports that Pizza Hut is to introduce a potato topping at an outlet in the city Vadodara after extensive market research.

PepsiCo Inc, the maker of Pepsi-Cola, Frito-Lay snacks and Tropicana juice, plans to invest $5.5 billion in India by 2020 to expand its presence in the country, it said on Monday.

Bending over backwards following pressure from other states and agitations by traders' associations there, the West Bengal government Monday relaxed its ban on export of potatoes

Since potato prices in West Bengal are fixed by state government, smuggling of potatoes to surrounding Indian states that do not have fixed potato prices has become a major issue.

West Bengal state government today started selling potato at Rs 13 a kilo, a price pegged by chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on a day potato traders in Bengal began a 3-day strike to protest the administration’s ban on selling the tuber to other states.

Despite well distributed rainfall in the monsoon, West Bengal, one of the most important potato growing zones in India, is likely to have major down fall in potato yield in next crop season. Courtesy- prevailing post monsoon meteorological disturbances.

Potato prices have almost doubled in most parts of India over the past one week. While most states are yet to take steps to check the spike in prices, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has called a meeting on October 30 to review the situation.

Food &beverages giant PepsiCo India is believed to have backed out of the race to buy a stake in Rajkot-based Balaji Wafers.

The Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI) in Shimla, India's premier potato research institute, has evolved a new technology to prevent conversion of starch into glucose in low temperature conditions, like cold storages.

Farmers from Kannauj and neighbouring areas have been throwing potatoes on the roads here, after a super bumper crop led to huge excess of supply over demand.

PepsiCo Inc., the world’s largest snack-food maker, is among suitors exploring a bid for India’s Balaji Wafers Pvt as it pushes to sell more chips in developing countries, said two people familiar with the matter.

Indian snack maker Balaji Wafers is in separate talks with private-equity funds, including Blackstone Group and Actis, to raise between $100 million and $125 million.

SI Solutions has said it is interested in setting up a potato processing unit in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh and requested land for it.