News on Potato Prices from India

The Narendra Modi government (India) on Tuesday decided to bring onions and potatoes under the Essential Commodities Act (ECA) to curb black marketing and hoarding, blamed for recent surge in prices. This will empower states to impose caps on stocks of these two vegetables for traders.

Fries, chips and flakes manufacturers in India are concerned over firm prices of potato, which has seen a jump owing to poor crop this year. Companies assure that an increase in retail price was unlikely to take place in the short run.

The price of potato in some markets in India has jumped 25 per cent in the past four days, due to reports of massive damage of the harvested crop from inclement weather.

Since potato prices in West Bengal are fixed by state government, smuggling of potatoes to surrounding Indian states that do not have fixed potato prices has become a major issue.

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.

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.

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.

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

With the new potato crop expected to be in market over the next two weeks, a sharp rise in input cost is likely to keep the prices firm. Prices of potato seeds in West Bengal, which accounts for 30 per cent of the country’s potato production, have gon...

After ruling firm for almost five months starting February this year, potato prices in West Bengal is on a declining trend.

Potato prices have not declined in the West Bengal despite the government banning potato export from August 1 from the state.

Agra may be famous for its monuments, but it also holds 7% of India's cold storage capacity - more than in the whole of Punjab. Almost all of it is used to store potatoes. How did the city and surrounding areas become India's cold storage hub and what...

Potato prices are expected to remain firm for the next few months in West Bengal. Prices have gone up by almost 34% for regular variety of potato over the last few months.

The government may be pressing the panic buttons due to spiralling food prices, but it failed to read the writing on the wall five months ago when thousands of farmers across Haryana, Punjab and UP set ablaze hundreds of tonnes of potatoes on the streets to protest low prices and mounting losses due to a glut.

With potato prices at Rs 20 a kg in retail in the domestic market, traders from northern India have started to import Pakistani potatoes that are 20% to 40% cheaper.

After plummeting to a record low two months back, the retail price of potatoes has risen sharply due to lower supplies.

After witnessing record low prices for the new crop in the beginning of harvest season this year, a majority of potato farmers in West Bengal now have a reason to cheer. Wholesale prices of the new crop (Jyoti variety), which were ruling at around Rs ...