Unpredictable Weather Hits Potato Farming in India, Prices Shoot Up

In a setback for India's agricultural sector, potato farming has been severely affected by unpredictable weather patterns, leading to a significant drop in production.

Bad weather last November impacted potato farming in the nation. It damaged the crops when they were just planted, thus farmers had to plant them again in December. Now, recent rains in April have again caused damage to the crops that were almost ready to be harvested.

As a result, potato production in India has dropped this year, particularly in major farming states like Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Cold storage units are also not filled up like they did last year.

The production of potatoes in 2023-24 is expected to have fallen to about 58.99 million tonnes from about 60.14 million tonnes in the previous year, according to the Agriculture Ministry's First Advance Estimate for 2023-24 released earlier this year.

Cold storage units are also not filled up like they did last year.

There is anticipation of price increases. With the supply of potatoes expected to remain constrained compared to previous years, the rates are likely to continue their upward trajectory, posing significant challenges for consumers and stakeholders across the potato value chain.