News on The Potato Supply Chain from Asia

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

Pakistan is poised to become self-sufficient in potato seed by mid-2022. The country is going to start producing high-quality, virus-free, third-generation potato seed.

The strength in demand for potatoes grown in Mondulkiri, Cambodia, has farmers in the region planning to expand their cultivation for next season, says Song Kheang, director of the province’s agriculture department.

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.

Central Potato Research Institute, (CPRI) Ooty in Tamil Nadu has developed two disease resistant potatoes - Kufri Sahyadri and Kufri Karan - hybrid varieties which at present showing promising results in improving yield by 25 per cent to 30 per cent at laboratory level.

On Jan 31, 2021, the team of Allround (India) Vegetable Processing Machines Pvt Ltd, Ambala, Haryana took part in the inauguration and foundation stone laying ceremony of the expansion and capacity enhancement project of the unit.

Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) has provided over 50,000 potato tubers to Agriculture Department of Gilgit Baltistan (Northern Areas) in order to promote disease free potato production.

Bangladesh is importing two blight resistant (GM) potato lines developed at Michigan State University for a field trial. Success will save 20% yield loss and Tk100C in fungicide cost.

Last month, key actors from Georgia’s potato sector convened virtually to discuss ideas to enhance the country’s potato sector.

How do Agrico seed potatoes find their way to Bangladesh? The journey starts with the sale of the seed potatoes.

The government of Pakistan is committed to expedite the establishment of aPotato Development Council under the forthcoming Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF), revealed Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood.

Bangladesh targets potato production of over 4 million tons just for the Rangpur division

A new study published in Plant Pathology identifies for the first time the genotypes of P. infestans, causing late blight in the main potato-growing regions in Java, Indonesia.

In the period between January and October of 2020, 982,1 tons of potatoes were produced in Azerbaijan. According to the State Statistics Committee, compared to the same period last year, this indicator increased by 1,6%.

Researchers of the International Potato Center (CIP) explain the difficulties small potato farmers in many states of India may face to access good-quality planting materials at affordable prices.

Bangladesh imports over 2,000 tons of seed potato from the Netherlands. Varieties include Diamond, Carolus, Margarita, Barcelona, and Accent.