Potato Review

New processing plant in Russia AFTER more than 20 years of importing frozen products from its European plants for sale in Russia and neighbouring countries, McCain has decided to localise production in Russia to supply customers in the area with processed French fries and other specialty potato appetisers. The company has announced an investment of $150 million Euros into a new production facility that will be located in the Tula Oblast region and will create around 200 jobs. The company is working closely with farmers to source potatoes for its frozen potato products. McCain Foods operates in 160 countries around the world, with 51 facilities in local markets. 52 POTATO REVIEW MAY/JUNE 2021 INTERNATIONAL NEWS Bengal growers hit by double whammy A SECTION of farmers in Bengal say an unknown disease has made potatoes unfit for consumption, adding to losses, while the price of good quality seeds have skyrocketed. At the same time, the minimum support price (MSP) fixed has remained relatively low. One 60-year-old potato cultivator from the Hooghly district, which is known for its potatoes, said in a recent interview with Down To Earth, that he had never been more financially strained than the current season and growers risked losing their homes if selling prices did not increase. West Bengal is a major potato-growing states of India. The farmers in the state mainly grow Jyoti, Chandramukhi and hybrid varieties like Super S1, Super 6 and Pokhraj. The retail price of potatoes in Kolkata was Rs 10 per kilogram (kg) for Jyoti, the most common variety grown and procured, and Rs 15-16 per kg for Chandramukhi. In February this year, the state government fixed the MSP of potatoes (Jyoti variety) at Rs 300 for a bag (50 kg), which translated to Rs 6 per kg. This was done to prevent the distress sale of produce like last year when initially farmers didn’t get a good price for the potatoes and then suddenly prices skyrocketed to Rs 1,400-1,500 per bag. Cultivators in Bengal prefer seeds from Punjab because they are disease-free and o er better yield. The price of these seeds has increased to Rs 5,000-5,200 for each bag from Rs 3,000 last year. 9.3% growth in India INDIA’S Agriculture Ministry projected potato production at a record 53.11 million tonnes in 2020-21, as against 48.56 million tonnes in 2019-20, a 9.3% growth driven by an almost 10% increase in crop area. The potato harvests were much more substantive over the past year than tomato and onion, other staple crops for the country. An 11% increase in the onion sowing area led to less than 1% growth in production, which is estimated at 26.29 million tonnes this year. Key producing States such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat saw major crop losses due to unseasonal rain, leading to severe spikes in onion rates, with the Centre facilitating imports to tame the soaring prices. Unseasonal rainfall in Karnataka was also the main reason for the 5% dip in production of tomatoes to 20.15 million tonnes, despite a small 1.7% increase in crop area. Peruvian exports grow dramatically PERU is rapidly surpassing Chile as the largest South American exporter of fresh potatoes, carrots and other vegetables and fruit. Its exports have grown from less than a million tons in 2011 to 2.25 million in the past year, around 20% more than in 2019. Meanwhile Chile’s peaked at 3.17 million tons in 2018 and declined slightly in 2020 to 2.91 million tons. More Indian trains to transport potatoes MORE trains are to be deployed for the transportation of potatoes in North-East India. One train will run from Dhupguri to Agartala, one from Falakata to Agartala, one from Falakata to Dimapur, one from Dhupguri to New Tinsukia and another from Changrabandha to Agartala for two trips each. The additional freight train services follow an announcement in the Union Budget 2020-21 whereby Indian Railways started running Kisan Rail train services to transport perishables and agri-products, as reported by Nenow.in, an online news portal covering the states of northeast India and the five neighbouring countries.