India to import potatoes to check rising prices

The Indian government on October 29, 2020 allowed the import of 10 lakh tonnes of potatoes to check rising prices. This was informed through a notification by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).

Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Piyush Goyal informed that the centre is taking active steps to moderate rising potato prices in the nation. The centre will now be importing 30,000 tonnes of potato from Bhutan without license.

Key Highlights 

•India will import of fresh and chilled potatoes from Bhutan without any license, up to January 31, 2021. The imports of potatoes were restricted till now. 

•The centre has further reduced import duty on potato to 10 percent from earlier 30 percent. 

•The DGFT has also eased the procedure for import of potatoes till January 31, 2021 by doing away with the need to send application hard copies through mail or post.

•The successful applicants will have to ensure that the import consignments reach the Indian ports on or before January 31, 2021. The request for an extension of time will not be entertained.

Besides this, the centre has also planned to import 25,000 tonnes of onions before Diwali. This will be in addition to the 7,000 tonnes of onions that NAFED has already procured through private importers.