News on The Potato Supply Chain from India

The legal battle between a number of potato farmers in Gujarat accused of illegally growing a proprietary variety and food and beverage manufacturer PepsiCo India may be headed for an out-of-court settlement.

Leading farmers unions and rights advocacy groups have demanded that the PepsiCo immediately withdraw all legal suits it has slapped on many potato farmers in different districts of Gujarat.

PepsiCo has sued three potato farmers in Gujarat complaining that they have been illegally growing and selling a variety of potato exclusively registered to Pepsico for the use of producing its Lays potato chips.

The Odisha Government has decided to approve a major project with the International Potato Centre (CIP) focused on sustainable intensification of potato cultivation in order to achieve self-sufficiency in production in this Indian State.

Poor supply of potato in Madhya Pradesh in spot market and higher prices have escalated cost of production of chips manufacturers by over 10 per cent. The rise is likely to make packaged chips more expensive.

James Hutton Limited, has entered into a five-year agreement with Technico Agri Sciences, a subsidiary of Indian company ITC Limited, to provide 16 potato varieties and 600 clones to be trialled and tested in India.

The West Bengal state government is providing transport subsidy for the benefit of potato farmers, businessmen and cold storage owners, for exporting potatoes to other states.

Snacks and beverages manufacturer PepsiCo plans to invest $5 million by 2020 to expand its sustainable farming programme in India.

In an effort to limit the spread of the Potato Cyst Nematode, the government of India has prohibited the movement of seed potatoes from Himachal, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and Jammu Kashmir to other states

The government in the Indian state Odisha has started producing potato variety ‘Chipsona’ on experimental basis in Koraput in anticipation of plans by Pepsico to establish a potato chips manufacturing unit in the region

A centre for excellence for potato-seed is all set to come up in Gujarat, through a collaboration between Indian and Dutch companies.

Potato prices in India are not going to come down in the near future as the production of the crop has been reportedly around 20 per cent lower this year in potato growing states.

A regular day in an Indian household is incomplete without the humble potato being part of at least one meal. It could be the filling in samosas, the centre of our vada pavs or the topping on morning poha.

In a bid to rein in prices of potatoes, the government of the Indian State Odisha has imposed stock holding limits on this Indian staple.

Higher potato prices are reported in various states of India (Punjab, West-Bengal), offering relief (Punjab) or even a windfall (West-Bengal) for farmers.

Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the Indian federal government was planning to draw a sustainable roadmap to keep soaring prices of staples tomato, onion and potato under control.

The potato production in West Bengal is expected to drop from last year’s 11 million tonne to 8-10 million tonnes in 2018, but is unlikely to impact the price, officials said.

Four months after farmers dumped potatoes on road in Mohali and other parts of the Indian state Punjab, seeking remunerative price for their potato crop, state government has allowed the staple food’s export to Russia and the Middle East.