Despite the peak season, potatoes are being sold in the retail market at Tk 40 per kg, up by 73 per cent compared to last year, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) data.
Traders involved in cold storage said that the prices of potatoes may increase further by 25 per cent at the end of the season because potatoes have to be stored in cold storages at much higher prices this year than that of last year.
Besides, supply may decrease due to a potato shortage of more than 30 per cent at the end of this year, which will ultimately push up its prices.
According to the Directorate of Agriculture Marketing (DAM), potatoes were sold at wholesale level at Tk 30-35 per kg in the markets of Dhaka on Thursday, which was sold at Tk 13-15 per kg in the same period last year.
At retail level, potatoes were sold at Tk 38-40 a kg on Thursday, compared to Tk 20-25 a kg during the same period last year.
In different parts of the country, potatoes are being sold at Tk 26-27 per kg at farmer level which was Tk 10-12 per kg. Farmers said that cold storage owners are buying potatoes from them at this price and storing it. Owners will start selling potatoes from the month of May or June.
Bangladesh Cold Storage Association (BCSA) President Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu at a press conference on Thursday said that farmers are getting fair prices for potatoes this year.
The price of potato at farmer level was Tk 8-12 per kg last year. This year farmers are selling potato at Tk 25-32 per kg. Since potato has been bought at higher price and stored, its prices will go up this time, he added.
In reply to a question whether there will be a shortage of potatoes, Babu said that the price of potatoes in the market was very high at the beginning of the season. Farmers harvested potatoes from the fields before they fully matured in the hope of higher profits. About 30 per cent of potatoes are already harvested that would be the deficit, he added.
As a result, he said, potatoes will have to be imported this year. Already 1,000 tonnes of potatoes have been imported to meet the demand of potato chip companies.
“Consumers will have to buy potatoes at more than Tk 50 per kg this year due to less production and increased purchase price,” he said.
Babu also said that there are more than 400 cold storages in the country where potatoes are stored. But to ensure the country's food security, entrepreneurs want new investment in cold storage to store various products, including onion, tomato, carrot, meat and dates. That's why they urged the government for capital at low interest.
“Due to impacts of climate change, natural disasters and diseases, potato production has decreased by at least 20 per cent this year. A 30 per cent less of potatoes has been stored in cold storages in Munshiganj this year. Districts like Thakurgaon and Rangpur have stored 10-20 per cent less potatoes. So, consumers have to buy potatoes at higher prices this year,” he said.
