POST HARVEST PROFILE OF POTATO - Agmarknet

4.3 EXPORT AND IMPORT :Export :Indian potatoes has immense export potential. It has a price advantage over it’sEuropean counterpart because of lower production cost and due to short crop durationand cheap labour. The king of vegetables, Indian potato has the quality for it’s savorytaste with exuberant varieties. The country is also blessed with natural abode of someof the best varieties of potatoes in the world. Besides, it has the potential to emerge asone of the largest supplier of seed potato.The Indian table potatoes dominate the export by about 50 per cent of totalpotato export followed by frozen potatoes about 28 per cent, seed potatoes about 10per cent, chip fried about 8 per cent and other frozen preparation nearly 3 per cent.The quantities of different kinds of potatoes exported from the country aregiven as follows :Table No.14Export of Potato from India during 2003-2004 and 2004-2005Sl CommodityNo.1. Potato Seeds(fresh or chilled)2. Potato otherSeeds (fresh orchilled)Quantity in KgsRs in lakh2003-2004 2004-2005 2003-2004 2004-20055200782 6146704 326.37 478.2067739873 61012538 2778.65132 3317.04837Source:Director General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics,Kolkata.Import :India also imports potato from neighbouring countries e.g. Bhutan, Myanmar, etc.to some extent. The details are furnished below.Table No.15Import of Potato in India during 2004-2005Sl.No.Commodity Year Quantity inKgsValue inRs lakh1. Potatoes fresh or chilledother than seeds2004-2005 4813220 276.08774Source:Director General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, Kolkata42