Excess Bengal potato may head south

Speaking at a press conference in Kolkata on Monday, Patit Paban De, president of the association, said the railways should allow rakes of 20 wagons, instead of the stipulated 40 wagons, for sending potatoes to south India, to avoid oversupply of the crop in southern states.

Some of the other demands of the association to the railways include, withdrawal of re-booking system for long distances and special discount on the booking rate.

The cold storage association also wants the multi-point loading and unloading facilities up to 800 kms, as at present the facilities are restricted up to 300 km, beyond which re-booking is necessary.

Also, only 40 tonnes of potato should be allowed in a 64 tonne capacity of wagon, with charges applicable only for 40 tonnes, De said. This year, potato production in West Bengal is pegged at 88,00,000 tonnes, an increase of almost 25 per cent over last years' crop of 70,00,000 tonnes. The local requirement of potato is close to 40 lakh metric tonne.

About 80 per cent of the stock has been moved to the 370 cold storages in the state.

According to De, against the production cost of more than Rs 300 a quintal, for potatoes loaded in the cold storages, the farmers this year are getting less than Rs 150 a quintal.

The total losses of those involved in the trade, including the farmers, has been pegged at Rs 770 crore by the association. This month, a section of potato traders have also threatened to go for a strike, and hold demonstrations through road blockages in Kolkata.