Kolkata: The state Agricultural Marketing department on Thursday extended the storing period of potato up to December 31 in all the cold storages of Bengal to ensure that the farmers get the right price of their produce.
“This year, there has been record production of potato in the state and accordingly, we have arranged for storage of the entire stock to ensure that farmers do not have to go for distress sale. Still, there is sufficient stock and in this backdrop, we have extended the storage period by another month,” said Becharam Manna, minister in-charge of state Agricultural Marketing department.
He maintained that there has been no complaints or agitation associated with storage of potatoes this year. The notification issued the department states that the storages as submitted by the Director of Agricultural Marketing based on periodic returns from the cold storage licensee indicate that there is substantially good quantity of potato stock in the cold storages, which is still required to be stored and released beyond November 30 to meet the requirements of domestic markets till arrivals of new crop.
“The move will ensure full utilisation of the stock, safeguarding interests of hirers and ensuring availability of potato in the markets in the months of December 2025 and January 2026,” said a Nabanna official.
The pro-rata additional rent for the cold storages will be Rs 20.22 per quintal for South Bengal districts and Rs 20.66 per quintal for North Bengal districts. The cold storage licensee is entitled to charge above stated additional rent for use of cold storage space for this extended period.