Farmers and traders in Thakurgaon who put potatoes in cold storage hoping for a better price are now losing money. With storage rent, transport and other costs, each kilo has cost them Tk 19-20, but it sells for only Tk 14, a loss of Tk 5-6 a kg.
At harvest, potatoes changed hands in the field for Tk 10-12 a kg, and many stored them expecting prices to rise; demand is now weak. Arman Hossain, a farmer from Begunbari in Sadar upazila, said he is selling at Tk 14 potatoes that cost him Tk 19-20. Md Wahab, a farmer and trader in Ranisankail, said he had lost money in the past two or three seasons too and this year has lost his capital; if it goes on, he said, farmers will turn away from potatoes.
The district Department of Agricultural Extension says potatoes were planted on about 37,000 hectares this season against a target of 30,000, about 10,000 of them early varieties. Its 19 cold stores now hold about 105,000 tonnes. Trader Shamsuzzoha of Krishnapur said this is when large quantities should be leaving the stores, yet about two-thirds is still inside.
Md Al Amin, manager of Shahi cold storage, said farmers, traders and store owners alike will suffer if the potatoes do not move. Cold-store labourers, with less loading and unloading to do, are earning less too.
Md Alamgir Kabir, additional deputy director of the district DAE, said farmers who stored potatoes for profit are now facing losses at much lower prices. Farmers and traders want faster marketing and a push for exports to clear the stores.
The report is by Dhaka Mail's Thakurgaon correspondent Md Zahid Hasan Milu.
Photo: Suyash Dwivedi / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Dhaka Mail
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