West Bengal potato stocks in cold storage rise 14% after bumper crop
Potato loading in West Bengal cold storages rose to 74 lakh tonnes after the state harvested more than 140 lakh tonnes, while authorities try to restore trade flows after last year's price crash.
Potato loading in cold storages across West Bengal has risen by 14% to 74 lakh tonnes, or about 7.4 million tonnes, after a bumper 2025-26 crop. BusinessLine reported that the state's total potato production crossed 140 lakh tonnes, roughly 14 million tonnes, making it the highest output recorded in the past five years.
That compares with about 115 lakh tonnes in the previous season, which had also been considered a strong crop. Patit Paban De of the West Bengal Cold Storage Association said the new increase was backed by favourable weather conditions in potato-growing regions and a slight increase in cultivated area. With more potatoes harvested, a larger share of the crop moved into storage than in the previous year, when loading stood at around 65 lakh tonnes.
De said more than 95% of storages are already full. He also noted that farmers, rather than traders, have done most of the loading this year. Traders have been more cautious after suffering substantial financial losses last season. That is an important commercial signal because it suggests growers are holding a larger portion of the stock themselves while intermediaries remain wary of volatility in trade flows and prices.
Last year, wholesale potato prices in Bengal crashed as farmers resorted to distress sales while substantial stocks remained in storage. At the same time, the state lost ground in major destination markets such as Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar to Uttar Pradesh, which expanded inter-state trade aggressively and captured business that Bengal had previously held.
Industry participants linked that shift in part to an earlier ban imposed by the former Trinamool Congress government on inter-state potato trade after prices had risen sharply inside the state. The ban was later withdrawn after protests from growers and traders who said they were suffering heavy financial losses. The new BJP government in West Bengal has now lifted all restrictions on the inter-state movement of potatoes, onions, fruits, vegetables, oilseeds, food grains and other essential commodities.
State minister Dilip Ghosh said higher production this season had pushed prices down and argued that potatoes must now be sold more widely so farmers can secure returns. For the regional farm economy, the episode shows that bumper output alone does not guarantee income if trade channels are disrupted. The current season will therefore test whether open movement of produce can help draw down storage stocks and rebuild Bengal's external market presence.