October 18, 2001	Thursday	Rajab 30, 1422

GILGIT, Oct 17: The net income earned from potato exports from various areas of Gilgit and Baltistan is estimated at Rs75 million for the current year, potato growers said on Wednesday.

The growers mainly from hilly areas of Gojal, Hunza, Nalter, Astore and Rundo, where potato crop is being grown at vast ranges, said that they had preferred potato crop over the other cereals because it earned them high dividends than other crops and required less investment.

However, they said due to absence of a sound infrastructure, the potato crop did not get its market price and middlemen tended to manipulate market prices. They suggested training for farmers to enhance per acre yield by imparting modern farming techniques.