Overview

• Cold storages are holding a record 70.85 lakh tonnes of potatoes, including 10 lakh tonnes of early varieties after last season’s interstate movement ban
• Farmers, who account for about 80 percent of the stored stock, are offloading Jyoti potatoes at Rs 9–10 per kg against the Rs 15/kg MSP
• Wholesale price declines have inflicted losses of Rs 400–500 per quintal on growers in districts such as Burdwan, Bankura and Medinipur
• The state government has yet to procure the 11 lakh tonnes it pledged in March, leaving farmers and storage operators exposed to market volatility
• WBCSA is calling on the government to restart inter-state trade, offer transport subsidies and fulfil its MSP procurement commitment