Farmers Worried Due to Drastic Fall in Potato Prices in Punjab

This year, the price of potatoes has fallen significantly, which has negatively impacted the farmers. Table potato prices have decreased this year from Rs 1,200 per quintal in February and March of previous year to Rs 500 per quintal. Last year, seed potatoes cost Rs 2,000 per quintal.

In Punjab, the potato harvesting season has begun.

Producers reported that the demand for seed potatoes is now fairly low. According to them, the reason why prices have plummeted is that this season, potatoes are yielding very well in all states that farm them.

Despite the fact that this year's harvest of potatoes is relatively small in size, farmers reported enjoying a bountiful crop.

A farmer of Jalandhar has said that he has said that he has sown potatoes in and around 80 acres of land, which he has already harvested 60 acres of the land. However, the farmer Sukhbir Singh Thind of Partapura village, laments that there are no demands for his crop.

“The rate of table potato is around Rs. 500 per quintal, but we have no order for any seed potatoes at the moment.” He stated, further adding that he was worried that the rate for potatoes would not go up because of the bumper harvest across the country.

“The Punjab potatoes, mainly belong to the Doaba region. These include Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahr; all of which are great for seed purpose. All the potato growing states get their seeds from us. Yet, we have no order.” Sukhbir Singh Thind said

Harjinder Singh is a farmer from the Shahkot told media that he is waiting for the trades but there is no sign of demand whatsoever.

Singh continued, "We cannot afford to sell potatoes for less than Rs 900 to Rs 1,000 per quintal since at this price we can cover our input costs as well as make a tiny profit.

The price of potatoes fluctuates since they are a very risky crop. Another farmer, Paramjit Singh, claimed that the price of a 50 kg bag of potatoes occasionally drops to between Rs 100 and Rs 200. He added that potato growers are experiencing significant losses.

Early table potato harvesting in Punjab begins around December. About 20% of the crop is harvested up to January, with the remaining 80% harvested in February and March, 61% of which are seed potatoes.

Table potatoes in the market come in different shapes and sizes. Last December, the size of potatoes observed was very small. The seed potatoes and table potatoes are harvested in February and March whereas the larger potatoes come in March.

The size of seed potatoes cannot go beyond 45mm to 52mm. A preferred variant is ‘Goli’ (45mm) for seed purposes.

The entire crop is kept in the fields under cover for some time and after that the potatoes are size graded. Different parts of the country sow potatoes during different seasons and they are supplied in that order from the cold storage. Aside from Punjab, other potato-growing states are: UP, Bihar, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. However, they gain seed potatoes from Punjab.

Punjab produces nearly 50 million tonnes of India’s potatoes which is in actuality 5% of India’s total potato production. While other states gain their seed potatoes from Punjab and sow new seed potatoes every third year; Punjab itself has new seed potatoes in the field every year. Fresh seed potatoes are affordable and easily available as well.

The other states sow their own potatoes for the gap between the three years, resulting in 15% to 35% less yield but it suits them well because buying seed potatoes from Punjab every year results in high cost. Punjab’s seeds are often cut in half and sown.

At this point, the state's total potato production is close to 3 million tonnes. In the state, the crop is grown on more than 1 lakh hectares. Depending on the variety, 120 quintals of potatoes can be obtained from a single acre. In Punjab, 1 acre of seed requires about 45 bags, each weighing 50 kg.