Potato Prices

West Bengal cabinet gives nod to fix Rs 900 per quintal as MSP for potatoes

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that the state cabinet gave its approval to fix Rs 900 per quintal as the minimum support price for potatoes. "We have decided to fix the new minimum support price (MSP) for potatoes at Rs 900 per quintal to help the farmers. This will also ensure that they do not have to resort to distress sale of their produce," Banerjee said at a press conference at the state secretariat. She also criticised the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for releasing water without informing her government and thus damaging the crops (potatoes) in the fields. "The state government has created a corpus of Rs 321 crore for providing crop insurance to the farmers," she said, adding that her government would purchase somewhat damaged potatoes from the farmers to ensure that they do not face any loss. The cabinet also decided that the inauguration of the Jagannath Temple at the popular coastal town of Digha in Purba Medinipur district will be held on .

Odisha CM blames TMC govt for potato crisis, says Mamata has no 'mamata'

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday targeted Mamata Benerjee, his counterpart in neighbouring West Bengal, and the previous BJD government for the potato crisis in the state. Not self-sufficient in potato production, Odisha depends a lot on West Bengal for its requirement for the tuber and faces problems when the neighbouring state stops supplying the produce to cater to its home demand. While addressing an agricultural event here, Majhi and Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo slammed Benerjee for the potato scarcity in Odisha. Facing potato crisis in Odisha, we have talked to Mamata Didi, but in vain. She settles a score on us at the appropriate time. There is no mamata' (affection) in Mamata Didi for Odisha, Majhi said. The CM, however, did not elaborate on how Banerjee is settling a score. The chief minister also blamed the previous BJD government which he accused of failing to make Odisha self-sufficient in potato and onion production. During the last six month

Higher prices of tomato, potato make home cooked meals dearer in Nov

Home cooked meals became dearer in November compared to the year-ago period due to higher prices of tomato and potato, according to a report on Thursday. A vegetarian thali's price increased 7 per cent on year to Rs 32.7, primarily on a 35 per cent jump in tomato prices to Rs 53 per kg and 50 per cent increase in potato at Rs 37 per kg, rating agency Crisil's monthly 'Roti Rice Rate' report said. Additionally, prices of pulses rose 10 per cent, it said, adding that they will decline with fresh arrivals in December, while import duty hike led to a 13 per cent increase in vegetable oil prices. An 11 per cent decrease in fuel cost due to an LPG price cut that helped ease the pressure on the thali cost. A non-vegetarian thali cost inched up 2 per cent to Rs 61.5 in November due to a 3 per cent increase in the cost of broilers, which have a 50 per cent weightage in computation. Compared with October, a 17 per cent decline in tomato prices helped in a 2 per cent reduction in the cost of

J'khand CM takes note of 'stopping' potato-laden vehicles on Bengal borders

Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Sunday took cognizance on "stopping" of potato-laden vehicles to Jharkhand on Bengal borders, allegedly restricting the supply to the state, an official statement said. The CM directed chief secretary Alka Tiwari to deal with the matter with immediate effect, it said. The West Bengal government has allegedly put restriction on interstate supply of the tuber since Thursday in a bid to maintain the stock and keep the price of potato under control in its state, according to a potato traders' association in West Bengal. On the CM's direction, Tiwari spoke to West Bengal chief secretary Manoj Pant over phone for disposal of the matter, according to the official statement. "Pant has assured that a committee will be formed soon to sort out the issue of potato supply," it said. The price of potato has shot up by Rs 5 a kg in Jharkhand's retail market in the past two days after neighbouring West Bengal reportedly restricted the supply of the tuber, according

Potato traders threaten strike if Bengal doesn't allow selling elsewhere

Potato traders of West Bengal threatened to go on strike on Tuesday if the state government does not lift restrictions on selling to other states. West Bengal recently re-imposed curbs on selling potatoes to neighbouring states in an effort to control the prices in the local markets. Potatoes are retailing at Rs 35-40 per kg in the local markets. Following the decision of the state government, police have intensified surveillance at inter-state borders to prevent the transportation of potatoes out of the state. This has led to several trucks being stranded at border crossings. "We will go on strike from Tuesday if the government does not lift the restrictions," Progressive Potato Traders' Association secretary Lalu Mukherjee told PTI. He criticised the government's decision, stating, "Such abrupt measures disrupt our business and cause huge losses as we fail to fulfil commitments." Traders and cold storage associations blamed the state government for failing to control prices in t

Potato price shoots up in Jharkhand as West Bengal 'restricts' supply

The price of potato has shot up by Rs 5 a kg in Jharkhand's retail market in the past two days after neighbouring West Bengal reportedly restricted the supply of the tuber, an official said on Saturday. In a bid to maintain the stock and keep the price of potato under control, the West Bengal government has allegedly put a restriction on interstate supply of the tuber, according to a potato traders' association in West Bengal. West Bengal meets 60 per cent of Jharkhand's potato demand round the year, while the rest of the demand is met by Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and local production. "Around 50-55 trucks, each containing 20-22 tonnne of potato, arrive in Jharkhand from West Bengal. We were informed that the trucks were stopped at Bengal check posts from Thursday, which fuelled the prices of potato in wholesale as well as retail markets from Friday in the state," Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), Jamshedpur, secretary Abhishek Anand told PTI. He said

WB to consider lifting potato shipment ban post cost stability in local mkt

Shipment of potatoes to other states will be considered after retail prices in West Bengal stabilise at Rs 30 per kg, an official in Kolkata said on Monday. West Bengal, one of the largest producers of potatoes in the country, has restricted shipment of the commodity to other states because of a steep rise in prices in the local market. Neighbouring states such as Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha and Bihar depend on West Bengal for potatoes. "We have been able to control prices, but our aim is to achieve Rs 30 per kg at the retail level before allowing shipment to neighbouring states," an official of West Bengal's Agriculture Marketing Department said. The situation is being closely monitored, and the next steps would be decided after a thorough review, he said. At present, the Jyoti variety of potatoes is retailing at Rs 36 per kg in Kolkata, while the cold storage price stands at Rs 26 per kg. The state-run Sufal Bangla outlets are selling potatoes at Rs 29 per kg. The Progressive Pota

Govt considering potato imports from Bhutan amid rising prices, lower yield

The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare's first advance estimate indicates that potato production is projected to be around 58.99 million tonnes this year

Potato dispatches from Bengal up 35% day after traders withdraw strike

A day after West Bengal potato traders called off their indefinite strike, dispatch of tubers from cold storages surged by 30-35 per cent to fill the demand vacuum, officials said on Thursday. The traders' body said they would continue to adjust supplies in an effort to stabilise prices. "Since last night, around 8 lakh packets of 50kg each have been dispatched compared to the normal daily average of 6 lakh packets," said Progressive Potato Traders' Association secretary Lalu Mukherjee on Thursday. He assured the state government of adequate supply and asserted that traders would refrain from exporting the produce to other states for now, as the government has pledged to address local concerns first. Rabindranath Kole from the Traders Forum and a state task force member said, "The news of the strike withdrawal has led to some price reduction, but a significant decrease will be seen at the wholesale level, which hovered at Rs 34 per kg, once the produce hits the market in sufficient

Drop in onion and potato output; tomato slightly up, shows govt data

Onion production stood at 31.68 million tonnes in 2021-22, according to government data

Punjab's potato growers stare at heavy losses due to extremely low prices

Potato growers of Punjab are staring at heavy losses on account of very low prices they are fetching for their produce and urged the state government to extend help in this tough time. According to growers, they are getting Rs 4-4.50 per kg for the produce as against Rs 17 to 18 per kg received last year. With the farmers being unable to recover their input cost due to low prices, they are storing it in cold storage in anticipation of prices rising in the coming months. Punjab this season brought 1.14 lakh hectares of area under the tuber crop and registered a bumper output of 31.50 lakh metric tonnes. Punjab is the largest producer of seed potatoes and supplies the crop to many states including West Bengal, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar, Assam, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. According to farmers, prices have crashed due to a bumper crop in other potato-growing states. "Rates of potatoes crashed at the start of this season. It is because of bumper crop in potato growing states in the

TOP prices to remain benign in coming months amid likely inflation pressure

Traders and market watchers say the price movement in Tomatoes, Onions and Potatoes will remain within range sans any unusual spikes

Potato prices crash 50% to Rs 5-6 per kg in both producing, consuming areas

Potato prices in both producing and consuming areas across India have crashed 50 per cent to Rs 5-6 per kg this year on account of good rabi (winter) crop, as per the government data

Farmers in Uttar Pradesh feel the pinch as potato prices touch record highs

Potato seed is selling for Rs 60-70 per kg in the open market this year as compared to Rs 18-22 earlier. Crop area of potato is set to reduce this year due to high rates of seeds

A dog in the manger: Mini lockdowns hurt farmers, push up vegetable prices

As cities and states reimpose localised mini lockdowns to control the spread of the contagion, fruit and vegetable suppliers worry about the impact on their businesses.

Potato prices jump by 25% due to crop damage, frequent hailstorms

Farmers reported a massive crop damage in transit in addition to huge quantity of the potato left unharvested due to mud in the field

WPI inflation accelerates to 10-mth high of 3.1% on costlier onion, potato

The earlier high was recorded in April 2019, when the WPI inflation stood at 3.18 per cent

Inflation leaves consumers teary-eyed as pricey onions, food items bite

Albeit for a brief period during monsoon and afterwards, retail price of tomato went up to Rs 80 per kg

With potato output less than last year, prices are higher, say traders

Bengal's production is around nine million tonnes

Dumping of potato in Agra and other parts of UP as prices slump

Barring some centres, the price quoted is Rs 4-5.5 a kg across the country, against a cost of production of around Rs 5 a kg