India approves potato market support in Uttar Pradesh and widens pulse procurement measures
India has approved the purchase of 2 million tonnes of potatoes in Uttar Pradesh at a market intervention price and broadened support measures for gram and tur in other states. The package is aimed at shielding farmers from distress sales during peak arrivals.
India’s agriculture ministry has approved a multi-state support package for farmers, with the biggest measure focused on potatoes in Uttar Pradesh. According to The Economic Times, the Centre cleared the procurement of 20 lakh tonnes, or 2 million tonnes, of potatoes at a market intervention price of Rs 6,500.90 per tonne. The fiscal cost of that decision is estimated at Rs 203.15 crore.
The move forms part of a wider effort to reduce distress sales during peak harvest arrivals. In the same package, the Union Agriculture Ministry raised the procurement ceiling for gram in Andhra Pradesh to 1.13 lakh tonnes from the previous cap of 94,500 tonnes. It also extended the procurement window for tur farmers in Karnataka until May 15 under the Price Support Scheme.
Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan approved the proposals after a virtual meeting with state agriculture ministers and senior officials. The rationale is straightforward: during peak harvest periods, supply surges, spot prices come under pressure and farmers are often forced to sell below remunerative levels. The government is trying to prevent that exact market outcome.
The ministry said the Karnataka extension should allow a larger number of tur growers to sell at the minimum support price rather than liquidate quickly into a weak market. In the same way, the higher gram procurement cap in Andhra Pradesh expands the state’s room to intervene in the pulse market and support farm incomes when prices soften.
The potato decision in Uttar Pradesh is especially significant because of the scale of the state’s market. Uttar Pradesh remains one of India’s major potato producers, so a large procurement operation at an intervention price is also a signal to traders and growers that the government is willing to defend returns if the market weakens sharply. In effect, targeted procurement is being used as an income stabilisation tool in a period of seasonal oversupply.
The ministry said the package is meant to ensure farmers receive a fair price and are never compelled to sell at distressingly low levels. That means New Delhi is pursuing two goals at once: reducing political and social pressure during the harvest peak, and demonstrating a readiness to intervene crop by crop and state by state when farmgate prices come under strain.