News on The Potato Supply Chain from India

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.

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.

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

Contrary to NGO stories of exploited farmers and middlemen running riot, Gujarat’s potato farmers have scripted an entrepreneurial success story by teaming up with multinationals and other buyers of their produce

Potato prices in West Bengal may depreciate by 8% on the back of a better crop prospect in south India. The south Indian crop is expected to enter the market next month which is likely to push down prices at the retail level.

Wholesale merchants in Karnataka have started selling their stock of over 30,500 tonnes of potato seeds brought from Punjab.

In a bid to boost potato cultivation in Punjab, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today announced to enhance the subsidy on diggers, graders and planters from 10 per cent to 50 per cent.

For 56-year old Subrata Ghosh from village Garbeta in Bengal’s Medinipur district, it was a dream come true on Saturday.

Red, right size and low on sugar, Lady Rosetta is the flavour of the season for north Gujarat’s farmers.

Cold storages in West Bengal are struggling to stay afloat because of the state government’s refusal to let them raise rent.

The Bengal state government may opt to defer a rise in the price of potato cold storage in light of the fact that an election is coming. Any rise in prices is unlikely to be popular with the electorate.

Unseasonal rainfall in major potato-growing states has damaged the crop, resulting in a rise in its prices. Though the actual loss is yet to be ascertained, experts say the sustained, untimely rainfall would have a long-term impact.

Potato prices in West Bengal dipped by about Rs 50-100 a quintal over the weekend on improved supply of potatoes.

Wholesale potato prices in West Bengal softened by nearly 15 per cent this week, due to arrival of new crop.

he intense cold wave in Punjab has resulted in the potato crop not growing over the past several days.