Production of potato fell by 2.3 per cent during 2013-14 compared to the previous year due to untimely rains and late blight disease, Parliament was informed today.
Price rise in potato was not solely due to reduction in production but is attributed to several factors also such as cost of transportation, cold storage costs, and rising demand due to increasing incomes, Minister of State for Agriculture Sanjeev Kumar Balyan said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
"As per the provisional estimates provided by the States, the All India production of potato during 2013-14 has decreased by 2.3 per cent in comparison to 2012-13," the minister said in the reply.
According to National Horticultural Research Development Foundation (NHRDF) data, the production of potato in the year 2013-14 was 443.06 lakh tonnes as against 453.43 lakh tonnes in 2012-13.
The Minister also added that to do away with the imbalance between demand and supply and to control the prices of potato, government has imposed minimum export price (MEP) of USD 450 per MT on potato in June this year.
Stock limits in respect of potato had been imposed for a period of one year with effect from July 3, 2014 under the Essential Commodities Act, Balyan said in the reply.
