Untimely rainfall in parts of West Midnapore last weekend has delayed potato sowing.

Delay in the sowing of potatoes spells bad news, especially when potato is retailing anywhere around Rs 45 a kilo. Delayed sowing usually delays harvesting, and often reduces production, which leaves an impact on the market.

“If farmers harvest the produce early, they get a good price. In case of delayed sowing, farmers also face trouble as it hits production,” said a senior agriculture department official.

According to officials, the delay in sowing in a large part of West Midnapore is likely to affect the potato trade in Bengal even though sowing of the crop in major potato belts such as Hooghly and East Burdwan is on according to schedule.

“This year, less than 25,000 of the district's 72,000 hectares of potato fields in West Midnapore district have been sowed till now owing to delays in rainfall. It appears that the harvest of the produce will be delayed from the usual mid-January to early February,” said Dulal Das Adhikari, the district agriculture officer (information).

Last weekend, parts of the district were inundated by sudden showers, bringing a halt to the November planting season.

“It was particularly bad in West Midnapore’s Ghatal, where many low-lying areas are still waterlogged. Farmers have either had to put their activities on hold or search for inferior but drier patches, because potatoes need dry soil to grow,” said district zila parishad coordinator Tapan Datta.

Farmers also said that the delay would pose several troubles for them.

“If potatoes are harvested within January, we get a good price, for instance we got Rs 12 a kilo last year in January. Once produce is delayed, the price comes down to about Rs 8 to Rs 9 a kilo,” said a farmer.

Prasenjit Samanta, who deals in potatoes in West Midnapore’s Ghatal, said: “The retail price of a kilo of potato hovers between Rs 45 and Rs 50. We expected the price to drop with the arrival of the new crop by January-end, but untimely rain will delay the process by at least three weeks.”

A senior agriculture official added: “Potato price in December comes down in Bengal as soon as the early variety of potato from Punjab reaches markets. This year, potatoes from Punjab have not arrived yet, another reason why the price is abnormally high.”