With potato price ranges stabilising about ₹600-seven-hundred a quintal throughout various agricultural marketplaces in the region, growers are now opting to retail outlet the spud in chilly storages in check out of decreased returns.
This will outcome in chilly storages functioning out of room soon, in accordance to sector officers.
“Cold storages in Bengal are complete as farmers have opted to retail outlet potatoes, expecting to get much better price ranges afterwards on,” mentioned Patit Paban De, forme president of West Bengal Chilly Storage Association (WBCSA). “Arrivals have flooded marketplaces in various pieces of the region this sort of as Gujarat, Bengal, Punjab, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Most of the arrivals have been diverted to the chilly storages,” mentioned Ashish Expert, Senior Vice-President, Federation of Chilly Storage Association of India (FCSAI).
When potato modal price ranges (rates at which most trades consider place) in some marketplaces this sort of as Fatehbad in Uttar Pradesh are ruling at ₹550 a quintal — almost flat since past month — rates in other marketplaces of the State are fluctuating among ₹540 and ₹630 dependent on the day-to-day arrivals.
In Bengal, the spud price ranges are ruling among ₹650 and ₹825 a quintal in opposition to a minimal support selling price (MSP) of ₹600 preset by the State governing administration past month. At retail stores in Delhi and Mumbai, potato is ruling at ₹15 and ₹30 a kg, respectively, in accordance to Ministry of Purchaser Affairs details. “Prices have dropped because the crop in some areas has been impacted by scab condition. Which is one of the reasons why they have sought to set their develop in chilly storage,” mentioned Expert, who is also Gujarat Chilly Storage Association President.
“Cold storages in Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and other developing areas are complete,” Paban de mentioned.
Expert mentioned chilly storages would brim with potato stocks in a week’s time with stuffing of the spud being carried out presently.
Potatoes impacted with the scab illnesses surface with black spots or scars. “Housewives do not choose this sort of potatoes. So, growers are forced to decreased the price ranges,” mentioned the FSCAI Senior Vice-President.
But for the scars and black spots, potatoes impacted by scab are harmless to eat and their good quality continue being intact.
Larger generation
On the other hand, generation of potatoes that are employed for chips, wafers or processing is also superior by fifty lakh baggage (of fifty kg each and every), mentioned Expert. “But they have been impacted by nematode in some spots,” he mentioned.
“Potatoes employed for chips and wafers are marketing at about ₹1,250 a quintal. Costs are decreased by at least ₹2,000 as opposed with past year,” mentioned Ajay Agrawal, a trader in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
“This year, arrivals are better as generation is better. In our place, generation is at least 25 for each cent better than past year,” he mentioned.
In accordance to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, potato generation throughout the recent time (July 2020-June 2021) is very likely to be a document fifty three.eleven million tonnes (mt) as opposed with forty eight.56 mt a year in the past.
Production is better in check out of the place underneath cultivation escalating to 2.25 million hectares (m ha) from 2.05 a year in the past.
In 2019, generation was decreased as the crop was impacted by unseasonal rains in the developing areas – of specifically Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh- , though farmers also did not present curiosity in check out of minimal price ranges then.
In addition to, better intake of potato, reportedly, owing to folks remaining at property owing to the novel Coronavirus pandemic also resulted in the selling price spike.
This year, farmers had been inspired by better price ranges throughout September-November to go in for planting of the spud. Potato price ranges in November ruled among ₹2,750 and ₹2,900 a quintal in major agricultural marketplaces throughout the region.

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