Thousands of potato growers and traders across the country are facing hard times as they are incurring huge losses because of low potato prices in the market. Experts explained that a bumper harvest, coupled with lack of storage facilities, availability of other vegetables and high input prices, has resulted in the sharp fall in prices, causing unending misery to the farmers. In the key potato-growing districts of Munshiganj, Rangpur, Dinajpur and Bogra, the wholesale price per kilogram of potato is between Tk. 6 and Tk. 7, which is much lower than their production and storage costs.
According to the agriculture ministry, the country produced 85.9 lakh metric tonnes of potatoes this year, the highest in the country’s history. Against the cultivation target of 450,000 hectares, potatoes have been grown on 466,000 hectares of land, ministry officials said. They added that the total production was 82.05 lakh metric tonnes last year.
Bangladesh is the fourth largest potato producer in Asia and is among the top 15 potato-producing countries of the world. Its cultivation ranks third in area-wise acreage after rice and wheat, and it is cultivated in almost all agro-ecological regions of Bangladesh. In addition, potato production ranks second after that of rice in Bangladesh.
Potato traders in these areas said they had to spend Tk. 14 for producing and preserving each kilogram of potatoes, and if they sell these potatoes at the market price, they would have to suffer considerable losses. As one of them pointed out, “Our dilemma is that we cannot wait for long. From next December, potatoes would start arriving in the markets.” In Munshiganj, the largest potato producer district of the country, farmers said they had to spend Tk. 7 for producing potatoes in the fields and Tk. 6 for preserving them in cold storage.
“So the cost per kilogram of potatoes rose to Tk. 14, but in the local wholesale market, the price is currently half of that. This means that I have to incur a loss of 50 per cent, which I really cannot bear,” said Sattar, a farmer in Shillmandir village in the district. There are some 377 cold storages in the country, which can preserve a maximum of 50 lakh metric tonnes of potatoes.
This year, 42 lakh tonnes of potatoes are being preserved in the cold storages. Till now, only 15 per cent of the stock has been sold, Bangladesh Cold Storage Association president Jasim Uddin told The Independent.
At the same time last year 40 per cent of the stock was sold from the cold storages, he said apprehending that at the end of the season 15 lakh metric tons of potatoes might remain unsold.
He suggested incorporation of potatoes in the government safety-net programmes like VGD and VGF.
In this connection he also pointed out that the potate storage cost has increased due to the rise in the power price.
In India when such crisis emerges the government provides various incentives like direct financial grants for cold storages to save the industry as well as the farmers.
He said the potato sector of the country would suffer a total disaster if the government does not take immediate steps to bail out farmers and traders.
Many, including Jasim Uddin, pointed out that household potato consumption has fallen because hybrid vegetables have been available in the country for the last two years.
Farmers said those among them who sold their produce to the middlemen managed to make some profits as the early varieties of potatoes fetched better prices. But there are is only a handful of such farmers.
On the other hand, the potato processing sector said the high production cost should be reduced in order to ensure sustainable profits.
In the northern region, especially in Rangpur and Rajshahi divisions, potato production crossed 55 lakh metric tonnes, department of agriculture extension (DAE) officials said.
Potato traders at Shibganj in Bogra district told The Independent that they bought potatoes for Tk. 13 to Tk. 14 per kg during harvest time. They also have to pay Tk. 5.50 to the cold storage for each kilogram of potatoes.
“Now what do we do when the potatoes are being sold at Tk. 8 per kg at the local wholesale markets?” they asked.
In Bogra, farmers have brought 60,577 hectares of land under potato cultivation.
The owner of Flamingo Starch Factory, Abdul Kader, said that despite having a capacity of 12,000 tonnes, they could not run their factory throughout the year as there is a mismatch in prices. According to him, the processing industries in the country can absorb over 10 lakh tonnes of potatoes, but in the current scenario, a higher number of processing industries in the country is not feasible.
Experts pointed out that it was imperative to develop the potato processing industry to prevent potatoes from being wasted on a massive scale. “The international market for processing potatoes is huge. For example, the global market for potato flakes and starch is over USD 20 billion and is growing by 10 per cent annually,” they said.
“However, Bangladesh is unable to compete. Not all varieties are suitable and there is a dearth of storage facilities. Besides, it does not have the necessary processing and distribution services. Bangladesh has the potential for exporting processed potato products, but the industry will have to be sufficiently developed. As a third option, Bangladesh could increase exports of table potatoes,” he added. The major constraints impeding the growth of the sector include a lack of access to quality inputs, a dearth of information on better farming practices, poor market development, and the absence of appropriate varieties.
-With The Independent input
