Farmers Throw Potatoes Into the Street After Price Per Ton Drops to 100 Pounds

The potato harvest witnessed a significant price drop, bringing the price per ton to 100 pounds after 10,000 pounds, due to the decrease in export demand due to the closure policies that many countries resorted to with the crisis of spread of the Corona virus, while experts confirmed that the harvest is subject to a dumping policy, warning of reluctance. Farmers for agriculture next season, demanding urgent state intervention to protect food security.

Due to the crisis, farmers in Minya governorate dumped quantities of the crop on both sides of canals, banks and roads, following the collapse of prices from 10 pounds per kilogram to 70 piastres, and left the land for other crops that they could make up for your loss..

According to reports from the Ministry of Agriculture, Egypt grows around 400 thousand potato feddans distributed in 3 agricultural circuits, the first of which is the summer cycle in December and January and is harvested in May, and the indigo potato seed is sown in June and harvested in October, and winter is grown in August and September and harvested in Minya and Beni Suef governorates. And Fayoum during December, when the productivity of feddan reached more than 15 tons.

Hatem Al-Najeeb, Vice President of the Fruit and Vegetable Chamber of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that potatoes were subjected to heavy flooding in the markets due to increased productivity and lack of opening of new markets to increase exports of the harvest, which was reflected in the decrease in the price per kilogram from 50 to 150 piastres per day. Obour markets, asking the government to intervene through rational policies to achieve a balance between supply and demand to protect producers of potatoes or other agricultural products to ensure sustainability in agricultural production..

Dr. Samir Al-Najjar, head of the Association of Agricultural Entrepreneurs, said that the responsible authorities in the country, led by the Ministry of Agriculture, must intervene urgently to save the crop, which is exposed to a disaster by the Increased supply due to the Corona pandemic, which caused an increase in losses and the execution of shipments of Egyptian potatoes at home and abroad due to the collapse of prices..

For his part, Dr. Ahmed Al-Attar, president of the Agricultural Quarantine of Egypt, called for plans to expand the commercialization of the crop locally, to face emergency crisis in case of a decrease in demand through awareness of the importance of potatoes in food for its multiple health benefits compared to others..

Dr. Ali Abdul-Mohsen, Director of the Institute of Agricultural Economics, suggested that the government adopt 3 solutions to prevent the reappearance of the crisis or mitigate its effects on farmers, including providing soft loans to help them store the harvest, to market them regularly throughout the year, and to make soft loans to make potatoes for added value. Providing seeds at reasonable prices reduces production costs and reduces the effects of market fluctuations..

Hussein Abu Saddam, head of the farmers union, said the reasons for the increase in the supply of potatoes are due to the expansion of cultivation of large areas compared to last year and the suspension of exports due to the Corona epidemic..

Dr. Ismail Abdel-Jalil, former director of the Desert Research Center, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the crisis is a “historic opportunity” to correct citizens’ dietary pattern of consuming more potatoes. measured by its nutritional value..

He called on “Al-Masry Al-Youm” to the government to establish the necessary plans to encourage citizens to consume potato and apply the Contract Agriculture Law for its economic return, especially since it is more water-saving, which will lead to a reduction in the wheat import bill..