Farmers stare at loss as potato prices halve amid glut in UP, Punjab, Bengal

Potato farmers are staring at a huge loss as prices have crashed to half from a year earlier, amid a glut in production in the major producing states of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Punjab.

Wholesale prices are currently ruling far below the production cost and traders expect prices to remain low this year due to high production.

Sowing of potatoes usually begins in November, while the crop is harvested the following January. Uttar Pradesh, the largest producer of the tuber, has witnessed a 15% increase in production in the latest crop season compared with a year earlier, when the state had produced 15.5 million tonnes of potatoes.

“Hybrid quality of potato is fetching a price of Rs 3.00-Rs 3.50 per kg at the wholesale, while the best Agra quality is fetching Rs 5 per kg. This is half of last year’s prices,” said Arvind Agarwal, national coordinator of the Federation of Cold Storage Association of India.

At the retail level, the common variety of potatoes is priced Rs 12-15 a kg, while the better variety is fetching Rs 18-Rs 19, again half compared with this time last year.

“Due to falling prices, farmers are staring at a huge loss this year. And prices are unlikely to go up from this level this year,” Agarwal said.

The weather has been conducive this season which has resulted in a bumper crop. “Also, farmers have used a high-yielding variety of seeds, which has further increased productivity,” he added.Exports of potatoes are happening but only to two regions – Gulf countries and Sri Lanka. Indian potatoes are not suitable for Southeast Asian countries.

In West Bengal, the second largest producer of the tuber, production is estimated to be 11.5 million tonnes this year, compared with 8.5 million tonnes last year. In Bengal, traders were holding back the crop, as prices were zooming high and they anticipated the trend to continue for some more time. But prices tumbled after Diwali and there were huge stocks in cold storages. Some of the stocks from the cold storages are being offloaded even now, even as the new crop has arrived.

Patit Paban De, a member of the West Bengal Cold Storage Association, said the prices would remain muted this year.

Potato traders in UP and Bengal are waiting for a transportation subsidy from the government for interstate shipment of potatoes.