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Chill kills potato crop; expect shortage, hikes
POTATO MIGHT cost you a few more rupees in the coming days. Reason: the dipping temperature in the north, particularly in Punjab, from where Delhi gets 85 per cent of its supplies.
POTATO MIGHT cost you a few more rupees in the coming days. Reason: the dipping temperature in the north, particularly in Punjab, from where Delhi gets 85 per cent of its supplies.
Initial estimates say frost has damaged potato crop in 35,000 to 40,000 hectares in Punjab and the state fears a 25 per cent dip from its earlier expected yield of 15 lakh metric tonnes. G.S. Kang, head of the Central Potato Research Station (Punjab), estimates a damage of 35-45 per cent to the crop in Kapurthala and Jalandhar which account for 90 per cent of the production in Punjab.
Delhi gets about 1,000 tonnes of potato daily from Punjab. Commission agents say frost shrinks the yield and this will drive up costs. “The normally 200 gm potato will weigh just 75 gm,” says one of them.
Farmers in Punjab growing potatoes under contract farming from MNCs, which manufactures chips, are likely to suffer more as their produce may not meet the stringent specifications of size and shape. The CM has formed a committee to assess the damage.
But in Delhi, agents and officials do not see a major crisis for the city. "Potato is sown in several cycles, and the present conditions will affect only one cycle (that of the potatoes sown early)," says Bhajan Singh, a commission agent.
"It is true much of Delhi's supply comes from Punjab. But the crop in UP has been good. Madhya Pradesh also produces potatoes in large quantities," says an official of the Delhi government.
Another reason why officials are not perturbed is the overflowing godowns. "Potato yield last year was good. There is enough potato in the godowns. There will be no immediate crisis," says the official.
But if the weather conditions - low temperature and cloud cover - persist, it will spell doom for not just potatoes but also leafy vegetables. "Wheat will get damaged. But the worst impact will be on leafy vegetables which are the most tender," says a farmer.
Kang says: "The majority of the potato crop grown in Kapurthala and Jalandhar districts is used for seed purposes and sent to different states. Hence, if the weather conditions continue, the seed crop will be affected."
