Food ministry voices concern over rising prices of potatoes

Ministry of National Food, Security and Research, has reportedly voiced concern that the price of potatoes may cross Rs 100 per kg during Ramazan due to exploitation of demand supply situation by hoarders to earn windfall profit, it was learnt.
Sources said that the total production of potatoes had decreased to 2.895 million tons in 2013-14 from 3.785 million tons in 2012-13 due to decline in cultivation area of potato crop by 10.71 percent. The Ministry cited the non-availability of sufficient potato seed at the time of sowing as major factor for decrease in production and cultivation area of potato crop.
The statistics presented to the Economic Co-ordination Committee chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar showed that production of potatoes in Punjab was 2.788 million tons in 2013-14 against 3.639 million tons in 2012-13. Potatoes cultivation which was at 162.6 million hector area during 2013-14 has decreased to 146.8 million hector area in 2013-14 in Punjab. Potatoes production in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has also decreased from 109.4 million tons during 2012-13 to 72.9 million tons in 2013-14 as a result of decrease in cultivation area of 7.50 million hector to 5 million hector. The production of potatoes has dropped to 30.5 million tons in Balochistan from 33.1 million tons. The total annual domestic requirement of potatoes is 2.662 million tons whereas around 80207 tons of potato has been exported from January, 2014 to March 20, 2014.
The meeting was told that demand and supply situation is being exploited by hoarders to earn maximum profit. Consequently, the price of potatoes has increased. The price of potato may cross Rs 100 per kg if the measures were not taken to arrest the trend by ensuring adequate supply of the commodity in the market. An official said that per kg price of potatoes according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on week ended at June 13 was recorded at Rs 58.21. Open market price of per kg was hovering at Rs 65 which is feared to be increased considerably with the beginning of Ramazan.