Bengal Occidental: Record potato production frustrates Bengal growers
Tens of thousands of potato growers in Bengal are in deep financial distress since the beginning of this year with traders forcing procurement prices to drop.
West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh have witnessed record potato production this year. The trade has choked the off-take forcing producers to sell potatoes at throwaway prices. It seems that Bengal farmers are the worst hit.
The massive price drop at the growers’ level is believed to have been engineered by middlemen, traders and cold storage operators. Surprisingly, neither the state nor the central government has come to the rescue of the poor potato growers. West Bengal is the country’s largest grower of potatoes per acre and the second largest in terms of total produce after Uttar Pradesh.
Fuente: https://www.freshplaza.com/asia/article/9507409/record-potato-production-frustrates-bengal-growers/
