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Potato prices have started to decline three days after the new price was set. Cold storage, wholesale prices have dropped a bit. However, at the retail level, in some markets, the price has dropped from Rs 5 to 7 per kg, but there are already higher prices. Vendors say that if the price of cold store potatoes is lowered, prices will drop everywhere. However, the price of potatoes will not stabilize until new potatoes reach the market. However, due to heavy rains and floods, farmers and traders in some areas are concerned about whether they will be able to harvest new potatoes in time.
Potatoes have been sold for Tk 1,200 or Tk 24 per bag in cold rooms in Munshiganj since last Wednesday. Potatoes are sold for Rs 2,500 a bag at the Rangpur cold storage tier. In other words, the price of potatoes is about Rs 30 per kg. Potatoes were sold yesterday at a wholesale price of Tk 30-35 per kg in the Dhaka markets, while traders from different markets hold up to Tk 45 at retail.
Speaking with officials from the Department of Agricultural Marketing, it was learned that new potatoes begin to hit the market from late October to mid-November every year. At the end of December, the new potatoes are available on the market in full force. In January-February, farmers store potatoes at home. It is stored in cold rooms in March. After storage, most traders sell their potatoes from cold storage until September-October. Meanwhile, he started sowing with seed potatoes again. As a result, there is a shortage of potatoes in the market during these two months of September-October and prices go up. However, the price did not exceed Rs 30 before.
But this time the picture is different. The month of October is almost over, but due to several floods and heavy rains, farmers in many areas have not been able to plant their seeds in time. The highlands where they were planted have also suffered severe damage. However, some areas or lands are giving way. It has been replanted somewhere. Data from various regions say it will take another month and a half to harvest the harvested potatoes, which is not enough to meet demand from the entire country. And it will take from January to February to fully market the new potatoes. In this situation, farmers, traders and consumers are concerned about whether the remaining potatoes will last for three to four months if farmers harvest the seed potatoes from cold storage.
According to the Department of Agricultural Marketing, the country produced 19 million tons of potatoes last season. The demand for the whole year in the country is 6 million tons. That is five lakh 63 thousand tons per month. At the end of last season, 3 million tonnes were stored in cold storage in March. Of this, 1 million tons are seed potatoes. The remaining potato growers store at home for three to four months. According to him, from March to October there are 2 million tons to eat.
However, according to the Cold Storage Association, the demand is for more than 90 to 95 lakh tonnes. They have produced 75,000 tons. Of this, 4 million tons were stored in cold rooms. So far more than 22 lakh tonnes have been sold. The remaining 18-10 lakh seed potatoes have eight lakh tons to eat, which is not enough for the next few months.
Cold store owners in Joypurhat told a press conference on Wednesday that currently about two-thirds of the potatoes stored in each cold store in the district have been removed from the cold store by potato farmers and traders in demand function. Most of the potatoes currently stored in cold rooms are seeds. And the amount of potatoes in stock for sale is two and a half lakh of bags (about 60 kg) or three lakh of 75 thousand kg.
According to information received from Munshiganj, farmers were unable to start growing potatoes because the water has not yet receded from Munshiganj’s potato lands due to four rounds of flooding and rains. This is the season to plant potatoes in the highlands. Although potato cultivation started in the lowlands in early November, it is not possible to grow potatoes here except in mid-November. However, the district agriculture department says the target for potato cultivation in Munshiganj will be exceeded this year.
According to data received from Rangpur, early potato cultivation in the Rangpur region has also lagged behind this year due to incessant rains and floods. Farmers are trying to plant new potatoes in the land, as the potatoes sown in the rain have rotted. They said that new potatoes from Kishoreganj of Nilphamari, including Teesta char area, the advanced potato cultivation area, used to reach the market for a long time. They harvested short-term varieties of aman rice and planted potatoes in the land in advance. Potatoes planted in the fields have rotted due to the rains and floods. As a result, it will take another month for the potatoes to reach the market early this year.
There are currently no stocks of potatoes at the farmer level. Approximately 70 to 80 percent of the potatoes stored in cold rooms have been disposed of. Much of what is cold stored is seed potatoes, which farmers will plant in the current season. Munshiganj’s representative has cooperated in the preparation of the report. Masud Khan, correspondent for Rangpur, Swapan Chowdhury, and correspondent for Joypurhat.
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