News on Potato Trade from Pakistan

China is a potentially big market for Pakistani potato, because the price of potato in China is higher, especially from January to April every year.

Despite a lack of an efficient seed supply system, new varieties of seeds, and technical capacity of farmers as well as inadequate resources for seed systems, Pakistan has harvested a record potato crop

China is keen on building stronger socio-economic ties with Pakistan and is interested in importing more from the country, said Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing, including potatoes

There have been rumors that the government of Pakistan banned potato export or levied duties on the export of potatoes. The Ministry of National Food Security & Research condemned these rumors and stated they are entirely false and fictitious.

Pakistan is expected to have a bumper potato crop this season, which can fetch a record foreign exchange, said an official of Ministry of National Food Security and Research (NFSR).

As farmers in Pakistan are getting ready for the harvest, false rumors are spread that the Pakistani government has imposed duty on the export of potatoes.

Provincial Minister for Agriculture, Dr. Farrukh Javed has said that Pakistan is capable of exporting up to one million tons of potato because of its bumper crop this year.

Pakistan is to allow duty-free import of another 100.000 tonnes of potatoes - in addition to the earlier approved 200.000 tonnes.

The imposition of 25 per cent regulatory duty on potato exports from Pakistan and making its import at zero per cent have yet to make the vegetable cheaper in domestic markets.

Pakistan's Federal Minister for Finance Senator Ishaq Dar said on Monday the government will withdraw all levies and duties on potato import, if its prices in the local market are not brought down to less than Rs30 per kilogramme in the next 72 hours.

Export of fresh potato crop from Pakistan has started and the volumes are likely to expand because of increased estimated output and strong foreign demand.

Vegetable exporters in Pakistan have demanded of the government a subsidy on exports of potato to remain competitive at world markets at a time when Pakistan is poised to produce the commodity in surplus this year.

Pakistan first state of the art potato washing and grading machine was installed in Karachi, which could help boost potato’s dwindling export during the current year.

Pakistani exporters of potato are facing a loss of millions of dollars as Russia has stopped clearance of consignments after complaining that the potatoes from Pakistan are infected with a disease.

Pakistani potato growers and farmers have been suffering colossal financial losses in the face of halt to export and lack of subsidies by the government to help them overcome their miseries.

With potato prices ruling at Rs 20 a kg in retail in the domestic market, traders from Jammu and Kashmir have started importing potato from the two Line of Control (LOC) trade posts of Srinagar and Poonch.