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Potato production in West Bengal is likely to be impacted this year on the back of delayed sowing and untimely rains. Though it may be difficult to estimate the exact impact on production, experts believe that the crop is likely to be lower as compared to last year. The State had witnessed nearly 16 per cent rise in production at 110 lakh tonne last year, as compared to 95 lakh tonne in 2020.
The early variety of the tuber, which usually starts arriving by end December and early January, has just started coming in. Meanwhile, the potatoes from Uttar Pradesh have been making inroads into the market thereby suppressing prices.
The wholesale price of the tuber (Jyoti variety), which was hovering around ₹ 15-16 a kg in the whole of December, has dropped by nearly 33 per cent and is currently ruling at around ₹ 10-11 a kg.
According to Arvind Agarwal, President of UP Cold Storage Association, there is pessimism in the market with regards to production of potatoes in West Bengal this year and this is likely to keep prices up.
Delayed sowing
Sowing of early variety (Pokhraj) potatoes in West Bengal had been delayed due to untimely rain. This coupled with the rains caused due to the cyclone Jawad could weigh heavily on the new crop, farmers and traders worry.
Nearly 55-60 per cent of sowing was complete when the cyclone hit the key growing regions of Hooghly, Midnapore, Bankura and Burdwan. The untimely rains had left the fields inundated and are likely to impact both production and quality of the new crop.
Cultivation of potato in Bengal is spread over close to 4.6 lakh hectares of land.
According to Patit Paban De, former president of West Bengal Cold Storage Association, the total sowing in the State has been delayed by around 25 days and hence harvesting has also been delayed. The production would now depend on weather conditions and how long the winter extends moving forward.
“The cultivation has been more than 90 per cent but it is difficult to estimate the production right now. If winter continues till end February then we may see a good crop, however, if it goes off by first week of February then it may have an impact on production,” De said.
Sowing in UP had also been delayed due to rains. In some of the markets such as Farukkhabad and Kannauj the early crop also got spoilt due to heavy rains. However, the production of potatoes in UP is likely to be above average levels.
“Last year we had a bumper yield, this year we may not have a bumper crop but we expect a good yield,” Agarwal said.
The price of potato may firm up post mid-February if there is any decline in production in Bengal, he added.
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