Government today decided to import potatoes for the first time to augment domestic availability and to check rising prices of the kitchen staple. Agriculture Secretary Ashish Bahuguna 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 the end of next month.Mr Bahuguna added that potato will be imported from Pakistan and European countries. 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.