News on The Potato Supply Chain from Asia

Potato planting season is in full swing in the Bekaa farmlands and Elie Samaha must rush off to his tractor where two women are seated on a low-hanging platform, waiting for the machine to grind into action so they can toss seeds into its path.

The Israeli Biotech company Rosetta Green Ltd. recently listed at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE:RSTG), demonstrated improved tolerance and survival of RGN-131 potato plants to drought stress.

ccording to Pakistani exporters, 200,000 tons of potatoes were expected to be exported to Russia during the current season

On February 11, 2011, the first shipment of U.S. chipping potatoes from Washington State arrived in Japan.

A controversy on field trials/multiplication of GM potato at the Central Potato Research Station (CPRS), Jalandhar, has started with activists, farmers unions and medical experts demanding from the Punjab government for immediate ban on these.

Showers accompanied with hail in some areas lashed Agra district (Uttar Pradesh, India) early Saturday morning, leaving farmers in this potato belt worried for the crop as it could be affected with diseases and yield poor quality.

Potato prices in Bangladesh have plunged to a four-year low both at retail and grower levels due to an increased supply.

Potato production in Uttar Pradesh, the leading potato growing state in India, has been hit by an erratic winter this year.

Sri Lanka Minister of Cooperatives and Internal Trade Johnston Fernando says that the local potato farmers will be guaranteed a reasonable price for their product.

Pakistan’s potato exports are lagging behind compared to regional competitors, as a result of poor logistics in the country, exporters say.

The National Potato Council (NPC) and the United States Potato Board (USPB) are pleased to announce the Government of Thailand has approved the states of Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming to ship seed potatoes to Thailand.

A clutch of Punjab-based potato farmers are in the final stages of signing a deal with Russian traders for exporting close to 10,000 tonnes of the crop to Russia for the first time.

iant Agro Processing Limited plans to produce some 1000 tonnes of virus- free potato seeds this year, which include breeder seeds, foundation-grade seeds and mini tubers, a top official said.

The government of Bangladesh has planned to give 20 per cent cash incentive to potato shipment for the next five years in an effort to boost production and make it a top export item, officials said Thursday.

Though onion prices are yet to cool down, potato prices have dropped at the retail end. An early good crop of potatoes in Punjab, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh has pushed down the prices.

België en Nederland mochten afgelopen winter geen aardappelen meer naar Rusland exporteren.

Het ministerie van landbouw in Libanon zal dit jaar beginnen met de export van 50.000 ton aardappelen naar de EU.

In the North of Bangladesh, USAID has started to assist potato farmers, workforce and entrepreneurs by launching a five year term (2009-2013) project entitled PRICE (Poverty Reduction by Increasing Competitiveness of Enterprises).