Potato price slump worries farmers

A bumper yield of potato has become a matter of concern for cultivators and traders in Rangpur region as demand for the tuber slumped in the market.

About 20 lakh sacks of potato remain unsold in different cold storages in five districts of the region, sources from the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said.

Per sack of potato (84kg) of Diamond, Cardinal, Raja, and Granula varieties was sold for about Tk 1,300 – Tk 1,400 during this season in 2020, while the price is now only Tk 1,000 – Tk 900 this year.

Potato traders and farmers claimed that the drop in market price has created a huge stockpile. They are now reluctant to withdraw their stock in fear of losses, despite getting reminders from the cold storage owners in this regard.

Agriculturalists, traders, and cold storage owners believe that growers in the region would lose interest in potato farming if they fail to recover the money they had invested in its cultivation.

The owners of different cold storages who lent money to the traders and farmers for procuring potatoes also expressed their frustration over the drop in market price. Many such owners had earlier served notices, asking them to take delivery of the stock by the first week of October.

Due to the bumper production of potatoes in the district last year, traders and farmers stockpiled a huge number of surplus potatoes in cold storages. Many of them had preserved potatoes in their homes and in makeshift stores, as they did not get space in cold storages.

DAE Additional Director Mahabubar Rahman said a target of 93,350 hectares of land was set last year to produce around 23,67,690 tonnes of potato in the five districts – Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari of the region.

The farmers cultivated the crop on 97,315 hectares of land and produced 24,87,690 tonnes, exceeding the farming target with an average of 25.46 tonnes of production per hectare.

According to the Bangladesh Cold Storage Association, there are 54 cold storages in eight districts of Rangpur-Dinajpur. Of them, 26 are located in the Rangpur district. The storage capacity of the stores is around 25 lakh sacks of potato.

Abul Kashem, a farmer and also a potato trader at Mahiganj bazar of Rangpur said the production cost per sack of potatoes was Tk 700 last year.  He preserved a total of 25,000 sacks in the cold storage after buying per sack at Tk 800 – Tk 850 during the season.

He had to spend more than Tk 283 per sack to cover the cold storage fee and other expenses. His total cost per sack stood at around Tk 1100. The present market price of potatoes per sack is about Tk 1000 – Tk 900.

So Kashem is set to lose about Tk 200 per sack due to the present market situation. 

“The cold storage owners told us to take out the potato sacks, but we are scared of losing money. If the price goes up a little more, at least we will be able to get our investment back,” he added.

Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) Senior Vice President Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu said the delivery of potato from the cold storages is significantly lower this year compared to 2020.

Babu – a former president of Rangpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) – is also the owner of Mostafa cold store at Mithapukur Upazila.

Surplus production of last year and the less export of potato elsewhere of the country due to lockdown caused the huge stockpiles and low price of the crop in the markets, he added.

Senior Coordinator of Agriculture and Environment at Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS) Bangladesh, Mamunur Rashid said potato farming in the north has become lucrative over the past years. It has created trade and job opportunities in the rural areas of the districts.

“However, the stock of potatoes remains high in cold storages, but market demand has fallen short. This is why the price has slumped,” he added.