LAUSR

Potato is the major vegetable of India. Variation in output of potato over the years leads to wide fluctuation in its price exposing the growers to a high risk situation. To cope with this, information on potential market and quantum of arrivals and prices of potato in different months of year is necessary for farmers. The current study attempted to analyze the variation in arrivals and prices of potato in highest potato producing district of Uttar Pradesh i.e. Agra. Time series data for last 10 years on area and production as well as market arrivals and prices of potato was collected from various government organizations. The findings indicated that the annual growth rates in area and production of potato during last ten years were significant and positive. However in case of productivity, it was insignificant and negative. The annual compound growth rates of arrivals were comparatively higher than that of market price. Inter-year variations in market arrivals and prices of potato were observed. The monthly arrival of potato was highest in the month of January and lowest in the month of October. Accordingly, the market price was highest during October-November and lowest in the month of February. The seasonal index of arrival showed that the arrivals were low during June to November and higher during December to May. The results confirmed that there were both negative and positive relationships across months between market arrivals and prices in terms of correlation coefficients.