Cost-efficiency likely to make India a key exporter of frozen French fries in future, says Utkal Tubers official

India will likely emerge as a key exporter of frozen French fries in the future given its cost-efficiency in production and processing, says Praveer Enthat, Director, Utkal Tubers that produces potato seeds.

“The main reason (for India to become key exporters) is the low cost of production in the country and the low cost of industrial processing to convert potato into frozen French fries. These two costs are very efficient,” he told businessline in an online interaction.

Earlier, there was the lack of quality seed availability but with that gap being filled up now, production and processing costs have come into focus. “If we really focus and get it right, we will be one of the largest exporters in the future to the world,” he said.  

Praveer Enthat, Director, Utkal Tubers

Pressure on industry

There is a lot of pressure on the industry to ensure better efficiency as the scale is huge. Even a 1-2 per cent efficiency due to a better shape of potatoes can help. A month’s additional storage, cold storage and such small things can result in higher efficiency, the company’s director said. 

Companies such as Utkal Tubers are focussing on these “small things” and the industry is showing a lot of interest in trying out new varieties. 

Asked if the infrastructure was good, Enthat said there is a huge investment in cold storage and a lot of cold storage facilities are available in all the production areas in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. 

On its part, the Centre is supporting these storages in the form of subsidies. “Investments (in infrastructure) are increased. We have observed in the past couple of years that cold storages are meeting international standards in terms of storage and technology. Huge investments are being made by corporates who are setting up plants near the cold storages so that they can have uninterrupted supply,” he said.

Tie-up with Irish firm

Founded as a startup in 2017, Utkal Tubers goes generation tracking of potato starting with germplasm and after two years of production begins producing the G3 or third generation potatoes which are delivered to its customers. 

The potatoes have varietal purity and generation tracking, which results in higher resistance to diseases and better yield. Getting initially into free Indian varieties released by the Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI), the company entered into a technical collaboration with Irish Potato Marketing (IPM) in 2019 importing 30-plus different varieties developed by the Irish firm and carrying out trials in India. 

Utkal Tubers produces table and processing potatoes , which can again be classified as wafers and finger or french fries varieties. Varieties of IPM, a leader in potato seed offering across 45 countries, are mainly aimed to produce wafer and french fries. These are priced at a premium to the normal varieties. 

IPM varieties are similar to Indian but have better potential in terms of yield and disease resistance. They are being tested and the company is awaiting feedback from the farmers and industry, who were provided with the samples a year ago. 

Commercial production soon

The company has identified IPM varieties that perform well in the Indian conditions. “We will begin commercial production of these soon,” said Enthat. 

The new varieties were launched on trial last year and they are being tested by its corporate clients. Some of its clients are Hyphen Foods, Amul, Simplot, Balaji Wafers and JC Foods. Expansion of IPM varieties are part of its growth plans, he said. 

Even in the table potato sector, Utkal Tubers, which has its research and development facility in Bengaluru with aeroponics and cocopeat facilities, is active in a big way in the Bengal market and in a small way in Madhya Pradesh.

For commercial production, the company has contract and corporate farms mainly in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. As a lot of potato processors are based in Gujarat, it has a 15 acres demo plot in the western State to particularly showcase its new and IPM varieties. Besides, it has small plots up to two acres where it is active to show farmers the capability of its seeds. 

Filling quality seed gap

In these plots, Utkal Tubers harvests in the presence of farmers and clients to exhibit the strength of the plants, the number of tubers, the yield, its quality, colour and other such parameters.

On the objective of launching the start-up, Enthat said it was to address the gap of the quality seed potato availability in the country. India being a huge potato consuming and growing market, there was a lack of quality seed producers. 

Though there were a few players, the scenario continued to be the same. As most of the farmers are using regular potatoes for farming, the crop was highly susceptible to diseases and lower yields. 

Utkal Tubers saw a huge opportunity in this to produce generation-tracked potatoes. It continues to focus on quality to bring out new varieties that have better disease-resistance and with higher yield. 

Lack of alternatives

In the seven years since it was founded, Utkal Tubers has produced popular table varieties such as Jyoti and Himalayan Pukhraj. In the processing varieties, it has come up with Lady Rosetta, a CPRI-free variety. “Currently we are commercially producing large quantities of only the Indian varieties with which we have established ourselves as a quality seed producer,” said Enthat.

On the difference in Indian and Irish potato varieties, he said the Indian varieties have existed for quite a long time and due to lack of suitable alternatives farmers have continued to use the same varieties. Since farmers and the industry are seeking varieties that are of shorter duration and survive in different climatic conditions, the IPM varieties meet their demands. They are in demand for high disease resistance too.

The company , which produces 6,000 to 8,000 tonnes of seeds annually that can be planted on 600 to 700 acres, is yet to make a start in Karnataka, particularly the Hassan region but it will begin its journey there soon, he said. 

Standard package offering

One of the reasons why it has not yet launched in the southern State is because commercial production takes place in the North and logistically, they are not economically feasible. The southern market has not yet matured for premium price seed potato, said Enthat.

Utkal Tubers plans to increase its production as it has roped in large consumers, who have a huge appetite, besides new industrial plants coming up to produce frozen French fries. 

Utkal Tubers’ main funder is Zephyr, which has 67 per cent stake, while IBM, its technical partner holds 20 per cent stakes, has also invested as also George Thomas, founder of CapAleph Indian Millennium SME Fund. 

Utkal Tubers, which has 50 employees and also employs seasonal workers, provides farmers with a standard package of practice with its agronomy team constantly visiting and interacting with them. It also distributes standard kits in terms of pesticides and all agri inputs so that all farmers use the same standardised product with the same dosage.