Cold plays havoc with Agra potatoes

The Khandoli town of the Agra division stands out prominently on the country's agricultural scene, producing about 8 per cent of the country's total production of potatoes.

The UP government branded the high-grade potato varieties produced in this area "Taj Potato", and is planning to export at least 2,000 tonnes of this potato to various countries under a single brand.

But the sudden temperature drop in Agra, touching almost the zero degree mark through the past three days, has destroyed all export possibilities of the Khandoli potatoes this year, killing half the winter potato crop, worth around Rs 15 crore. This, analysts believe, can also drastically raise the prices of potatoes this year.

The winter crop, spread in the potato belt of Agra, from Khandoli to the Hathras town about 60 km away, has been almost completely destroyed in some pockets of the belt, while at most places, the winter chill has killed atleast 45-50 percent of the crop.

Talking to Business Standard, the Uttar Pradesh minister for Food Processing Chowdhary Babulal said the Khandoli potato was the primary ingredient of the Uttar Pradesh government's "Taj potato" brand.

About 2000 metric tonnes of this brand were to be exported to Sri Lanka, Malayasia, Mauritius and west Asia. But after a cold wave hit the region, combined with the unavailability of electricity for irrigation in a large part of the region, about 60 per cent of the crop has been destroyed.

The remaining crop, even if it reached full maturity, will not have any export potential left.