With large potato growers in Hassan district holding on to their produce for better price realisation, it is the small growers who are actively feeding the market for the last one month. Large growers are ones growing above 100 bags (50 kg for a bag).

“The absence of big growers has affected the prices in the potato market in Hassan by 15 to 20 per cent, and is currently trading between Rs 300 to 800 a quintal depending on the quality and size,” said Mr Imtiaz Ahmed, a Hassan-based potato and onion trader.

“This year also blight disease has affected local Hassan potato variety. In the absence of local crop, potato grown in neighbouring Mysore and Chikmagalore districts is in good demand,” he added.

Explaining the absence of large potato growers in Hassan market, Mr Dhana Keerthi, a potato trader said, “Many large growers often do a direct deal with food processing companies and are sold at farm gate, thereby avoiding market.”

Karnataka has two per cent share in the country's potato production. It is estimated that during 2010-11 the State produced around 4 lakh tonnes from 80,000 ha area. The major kharif potato-growing districts in the State are Hassan, Mysore Chikmagalore, Belgaum, and Dharwad.

Beginning of this kharif season, the district administration in Hassan had taken steps to dissuade farmers from taking up potato cultivation for fear of blight disease. Even the Deputy Commissioner of Hassan, Mr Naveen Raj Singh, personally stepped in to educate the farmers not to cultivate potato for few more years as the traces of fungus causing blight disease were still active.

Mr Singh had suggested to farmers to go for alternative crops for a couple of years so that the fungus becomes inactive. Despite these efforts, farmers have gone back to grow potato this year. Farmers, who cultivated potato the last couple of years, suffered huge losses and are yet to recover on account of blight disease.

Ever since the Kharif 2011 crop has been entering the market from mid-July, about 3000 to 3500 truckloads have been traded. Buyers are mainly from southern states. “For the first time after many years, there has been no demand from north India. But it is only local (Bangalore) and few traders from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh who are active in the market,” said Mr Ahmed. “Large growers maybe sensing the absence of north Indian traders, with their holding capacity are staying back from the market for better price realization later, he added.

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