ગુજરાતી
English
Exports Halted Due to Increased Cultivation and the Gulf War
Dilip Patel
Ahmedabad, March 17, 2026.
India’s import-export sector has suffered a major blow due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, resulting from the war between Israel and the United States against Iran. Consequently, the inability to export potatoes from Gujarat has caused potato prices within the state to plummet by 60 percent. Farmers are receiving a price of just ₹3 per kilogram—less than the cost of a chocolate bar. However, traders are refusing to purchase even at this rate. For the 2025-26 season, the Agriculture Department had projected that potato cultivation would cover 169,000 hectares, yielding a total production of 5,447,810 tons. The expected yield was 32,238 tons per hectare; yet, no measures were taken to address the impending surplus. The current market price stands at ₹3 per kilogram.
If the total value is calculated based on the production volume of 5,447,810 tons at the current rate of ₹3 per kilogram, the entire potato harvest sold for a total of ₹1,634.34 crore.
Conversely, had the produce been valued at a rate of ₹15 per kilogram, the total revenue generated should have amounted to ₹8,171.71 crore.
Thus, if farmers were to sell their entire harvest at the prevailing market price, they would incur a staggering financial loss of ₹6,537.37 crore.
**Cultivation and Production**
In the 2024-25 season, sowing was undertaken across 156,000 hectares. This year—2025-26—an additional 10,000 hectares have been brought under cultivation. The three-year average for potato sowing stands at 140,832 hectares. For the 2025-26 season, the total cultivated area was projected to reach 168,163 hectares. In fact, during the 2025-26 season (based on the final sowing data recorded on February 2, 2026), sowing took place across 168,163 hectares—representing 119.41 percent of the average area sown over the preceding three years. Consequently, the sown area exceeded the average by 12,163 hectares. This 8 percent increase in sowing, coupled with a ban on exports, has led to a sharp decline in prices.
**Solution**
Farmers receive a mere ₹3 for four months (120 days) of arduous labor, whereas traders earn ₹10 in a single day.
If the produce were distributed and sold through the 16,000 government-run Fair Price Shops (subsidized ration shops) across the state, it would prove beneficial for the farmers. It is estimated that 2.5 million sacks could be sold within just four days, which shopkeepers could then retail at ₹10 per sack. The total storage capacity of cold storage facilities stands at 40 million sacks; thus, selling 2.5 million sacks through Fair Price Shops is a feasible objective.
**Which areas were sown?** Out of the total 168,200 hectares sown across the state:
160,000 hectares were sown in North Gujarat.
Specifically, this included 53,600 hectares in one area; 40,300 hectares in Sabarkantha (according to farmers’ estimates, potato cultivation in Banaskantha district alone covered 64,948 hectares); 23,500 hectares in Aravalli; 18,600 hectares in Gandhinagar; 11,300 hectares in the Vav-Tharad region; 11,300 hectares in Mehsana; and 1,300 hectares in Patan. Additionally, sowing took place across 1,000 hectares in Anand, 5,100 hectares in Kheda, and 700 hectares in Dwarka. Buyers are currently unwilling to purchase 20 kilograms of potatoes even for ₹600, and heaps of unsold potatoes have begun to pile up in the fields. All cold storage facilities are full. Last year’s potato stock was also still occupying space in the cold storage units. Consequently, farmers now have nowhere to store their potatoes. If the produce is not disposed of within 15 days, millions of tons of potatoes will go to waste.
Despite fetching a price of only 2 to 3 rupees per kilogram at the market yard, the cost of transporting the potatoes to the agricultural market for sale often exceeds the actual revenue generated.
Furthermore, paying the rental charges to transport potatoes from the fields and store them in cold storage facilities has become unaffordable for the farmers.
**Cost Per Bigha**
Farmers in North Gujarat are renowned for their high-quality potatoes; however, the plight of the farmers in the region today is truly dire. The financial burden has become so crushing that it is breaking the farmers’ backs.
The cost of cultivation per *bigha* ranges from 30,000 to 35,000 rupees, whereas the corresponding income barely reaches 20,000 rupees.
**Prices in 2025**
In the year 2025, the price for a 20-kilogram lot (one *man*) ranged from 250 to 450 rupees. The average price stood at 300 rupees, translating to a selling price of 15 rupees per kilogram. In stark contrast, the average price in 2026 plummeted to just 3 rupees per kilogram.
**Banaskantha**
Potato-growing farmers in the Banaskantha district are facing a severe crisis. With heaps of harvested potatoes piling up in their fields, farmers have been compelled to sell their produce at a distress price of just 2 to 3 rupees per kilogram. Meanwhile, consumers in the market are purchasing these very potatoes at a rate of 20 to 22 rupees per kilogram.
The farmers receive a mere 2 to 3 rupees per kilogram. With potato prices hovering around this meager figure, the farmers find themselves in deep financial distress.
They invested heavily in expensive seeds and fertilizers, and toiled through sleepless nights to plant and cultivate their potato crops.
Despite offering to sell their potatoes at a rate of just 3 rupees per kilogram, no traders are coming forward to purchase the produce. Moreover, the wages paid to the laborers for harvesting the potatoes from the fields are by no means cheap.
The farmers were forced to engage in informal labor arrangements and undertake the processing of the potatoes themselves.
At the Palanpur vegetable market, traders were seen displaying signboards and selling the potatoes at a retail price of 20 rupees per kilogram. Into whose pockets were the 17 to 20 rupees going in the interim? Neither are the farmers happy, nor are customers getting potatoes at affordable prices. The profiteering by middlemen continues unabated.
Unlike grains, potatoes do not require grading; nor do they contain pebbles or exhibit any visible defects. So, what value was added to potatoes—originally priced at 2 rupees per kilogram—that caused their price to skyrocket instantly to 22 rupees?
In light of this situation of economic devastation, potato-growing farmers are demanding a relief package from the state government. The farmers assert that the government must immediately announce assistance to provide them with some respite from their financial losses.
