ITC, Mahindra to buy 17,000 tonnes of potato at ₹5 per kg

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Agro Industries Corporation (PAIC) on Thursday said that two companies – ITC and Mahindra and Mahindra would purchase processing grade potatoes from Punjab.

PAIC managing director KS Pannu said ITC HAD offered to procure 3 lakh bags of potatoes (15,000 tonne) and M&M 40,000 bags (2,000 tonne) from farmers. The two companies are buying potato at Rs 5 per kg and also bear the cost of the bag and loading.

Besides growing table varieties of potatoes, farmers of Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ludhiana and Bathinda area are also growing processing grade chipsona, himsona, LR varieties of potatoes.

ITC would check the quality of potatoes before its purchase to ensure that it does not contain more than 12% of sugar.

Pannu said the ITC have started loading potatoes from the Patiala area.

The PAIC in collaboration with the Jalandhar Potato Growers’ Association will soon start exporting potatoes to Russia and Sri Lanka, next week, he said.

Jalandhar Potato Growers Association has already started sending potatoes to South India and till now has sent six railway rake loads of 40,000 bags each and propose to send 10 more rake loads in the coming days.

ITC OFFERED TO PROCURE 3 LAKH BAGS OF POTATOES (15,000 TONNE) AND M&M 40,000 BAGS (2,000 TONNE) FROM FARMERS