Odisha Food Supply and Consumer Welfare Minister KC Patra on Thursday accused the West Bengal government of creating an artificial shortage of potatoes to “tarnish the image” of the BJP government in the state.
Odisha is facing high prices A staple meal for months. Recently, the government of Bengal, a major potato supplier to Odisha, banned the shipment of the tuber as the price rose in its own market. What has caused the rise in prices, and why is Odisha particularly affected?
How many potatoes does India produce?
After China, India is the second largest producer of potatoes in the world. There has been a continuous increase in the area, production and production of potatoes in the country. Between 1991-92 and 2020-21, potato area doubled from 11 to 22 lakh hectares, and production tripled – from 181.95 to 561.72 lakh metric tonnes. Productivity increased by 50 percent—16 to 25 metric tons per hectare.
Potatoes are grown in India during the rabi (winter-spring) season, mainly in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Assam, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra also produce small quantities of potato during the kharif (monsoon) season.
With a production of 161 lakh tonnes, Uttar Pradesh was the largest potato producer in the country in 2021-22. It was followed by West Bengal, which recorded a production of 124 lakh metric tonnes. These two states account for almost half of the country’s total potato production of 533 lakh metric tonnes in 2021-22.
Odisha, though a major consumer, does not produce much of the crop. Potato is a temperate climate crop, requiring temperatures as low as 15°C to 25°C, and Odisha’s agro-climatic conditions are not conducive to potato cultivation. Thus, the state is dependent on supply from other states, especially West Bengal, to meet its demand.
Lalu Mukhopadhyay, state secretary of the Potato Traders Association, said traders from West Bengal usually send 150 to 200 truckloads of potatoes to Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
Is price rise particularly bad in Odisha?
Generally, there is a seasonal variation in the price of potato – prices fall during the winter and spring when the new rabi crop arrives and prices rise during the summer and end of the monsoon. However, this year the prices have increased not only in Odisha but in the entire country. The data on retail and wholesale prices show that the increase in potato prices in Odisha is comparable to that of other states.
Data on the Consumer Affairs Department’s website shows that the all-India daily average retail price of potato was recorded at Rs 38.08 per kg on Tuesday (December 3, 2024), which was 4.90 per cent higher and 55.49 per cent higher than a month ago. It is a percentage higher than a year ago.
The all-India daily average wholesale price of potato on Tuesday (December 3) was recorded at Rs 3,120.99 per quintal, up 5.24 per cent from a month ago and 69.63 per cent from a year ago.
Potatoes weigh 0.98404 in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and 0.27737 in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), the headline inflation indicators. Volatility in potato prices affects the common man as well as the commercial HoReCa (hotel, restaurant and catering) sector.
According to the data available in the Ministry of Statistics and Programs and Implementation, the price of potatoes has increased since the beginning of this year. After being in negative territory for one year (February 2023-January 2024), potato prices started to rise from February.
Since July, retail potato inflation has been above 60 percent, while wholesale potato inflation has been 77-79 percent.
Why did the price of potatoes increase?
One reason is the decline in potato production in crop year 2023-24 (July-June), which fell by 5.6 percent to 56.7 million metric tons from 60.1 million metric tons in 2022-23. This reduction has led to a slight decrease in area – from 23.32 lakh hectares in 2022-23 to 23.22 lakh hectares in 2023-24.
Potato prices were low last year, which may have caused farmers to grow the crop in smaller areas.
Both the top producers – Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal – saw a decline in potato production in 2023-24 compared to last year. Potato production in Uttar Pradesh has dropped from 201.3 lakh tonnes to 191.7 lakh tonnes. However, the decline was sharper in West Bengal, where production fell by 1.5 million tonnes to 13 million tonnes in 2023-24 from 14.5 million tonnes in 2022-23.