Rabi potato production expected to go up

Potato prices are expected to fall on account of higher production, in India and abroad.

This rabi season, domestic production is likely to be marginally higher than last year on account of favourable weather. So far, production has been seven per cent lower than last year, due to untimely rain and Late Blight disease.

About 80 per cent of the crop is sown in the rabi season.

For 2015, India’s overall production is likely to stand at 42 million tonnes (mt), according to initial estimates by the National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF). Though this is lower than peak production, fresh crop arrivals have eased prices. With the crop partly harvested, wholesale prices have already halved to Rs 10 a kg compared to a month ago, says NHRDF Director R P Gupta.

“For 2015, production is likely to be higher. Acreage, too, is about five per cent higher,” said Gupta. For 2014, production has been estimated at 40 mt.

Last year, low domestic and global production had led to retail prices rising to Rs 40 a kg. That year, India had exported potatoes to Pakistan for the first time, due to an acute shortage of the crop in the neighbouring country during the Ramzan season.

Globally, China is the largest producer, accounting for about 20 per cent of the overall crop. For 2014-15, production in China is estimated at 101 mt, five per cent more than in 2013-14, according to a report by the US Department of Agriculture.

With the prices easing, inter-state restrictions on transport of the crop have been done away with. Due to an unprecedented rise in prices, West Bengal had, on August 5, sealed its borders to the movement of potatoes. This had led to disruption in the supply chain.

“This year, potato production is very good. In other growing regions such as China, Pakistan and European countries, there are reports of bumper production. In 2015, we estimate production will be 25-30 per cent more than last year,” said Ajit Shah, president, Horticulture Exporters Association.

In Uttar Pradesh, harvest of the crop has begun, with a reported increase of about five per cent in production. The state’s annual production stands at about 14 mt. For West Bengal, production is estimated at 10 mt, against nine mt last year.

With the prices easing, inter-state restrictions on transport of the crop have been done away with. Due to an unprecedented rise in prices, West Bengal had, on August 5, sealed its borders to the movement of potatoes. This had led to disruption in the supply chain.