Potatoes are selling for Tk 9-14 a kg at cold storage gates in Rangpur, Thakurgaon, Joypurhat and Sreenagar in Munshiganj, while production, transport and storage rent come to Tk 20-25. Losses run up to Tk 10-15 a kg, and early new-crop potatoes now reaching the market could push prices lower.
The government set a price of Tk 22 a kg at the cold storage gate on 27 August, but it is not being paid. The average in the Rangpur region is Tk 12. Costs there in the 2025-26 season were about Tk 16 to grow, Tk 2 for sacks and transport and Tk 6 for rent, or Tk 24 in all.
Aminul Islam of Amrulbari in Badarganj has 300 sacks in storage and stands to lose Tk 12 a kg. He says he has lost money on potatoes seven times since 2014. Abdul Quddus, a farmer in Thakurgaon, spent Tk 19-20 a kg and must sell at Tk 14.
The Department of Agricultural Marketing puts this season's crop at 11.785 million tonnes, with about 3.39 million tonnes kept in 402 cold stores and 703 non-refrigerated model houses. The Bangladesh Cold Storage Association says more than 1.5 million tonnes are still in its members' stores.
In Rangpur division, 116 cold stores still hold 936,283 tonnes. In Joypurhat, storing a sack costs about Tk 1,300 in all, while a 60 kg sack sells for at most Tk 680. In Bogura, fear of losses is keeping potatoes in storage, and some have begun to rot.
Association president Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu says stores get no rent if farmers do not collect, while running machines to prevent rot adds to their costs. Many growers are unsure how they will plant next season under these losses.
Photo: Hridoye Mati O Manush / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Source: samakal
Comments
(0)