Government today decided to import potatoes to boost domestic availability and to check rising prices of the kitchen staple. Agriculture Secretary Ashish Bahuguna today said, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation will float tender soon in this regard.

He said, tenders will be invited this month so that shipments reach India by November-end. Mr Bahuguna added that potato will be imported from countries like Europe and Pakistan. He said, imports will be done to ensure sufficient supply till January. He informed that Small Farmers' Agri-Business Consortium has also been asked to explore possibilities of imports.

India produced more than 44 million tonnes of potatoes in 2013-14 crop year which is 2.3 per cent less than previous year.