Impact of WTO on Potato Export from India

Attempts are being made to export potatoes from India since 1970s but the quantities exported have been negligible and variable in spite of the fact that Indian potatoes are technically excellent and moderately export competitive. With the liberalization of Indian economy and establishment of WTO it was expected that the WTO regime would increase the price level in the international market due to implementation of proposed heavy cut in agricultural subsidies by the developed countries and hence the export of potatoes from India may get a boost. Under this backdrop, the study has ascertained the effect of establishment of WTO on export of potatoes from India. The study has indicated a declining export competitiveness of Indian potatoes in the post-WTO era, which requires immediate attention of policymakers as well as researchers in India to improve the export competitiveness by increasing the productivity and decreasing the cost of production. A need has been emphasized on giving some export incentives and easing some of the major infrastructural bottlenecks. Frozen-potatoes export from India had depicted competitiveness in the post-WTO era which can be encouraged to capture the fast expanding market of the product. The potato export from India can be made stable by either encouraging big export houses in the potato export or establishing a “Potato Board” to look into various aspects of potato export from the country