In a land of acute or chronic shortage of almost everything, potato production is surprisingly plentiful, and in huge surplus, due to bumper production almost every year. And the growers suffer immense financial losses due to its lower prices. There is nothing more depressing for them than this.
The hopeless and distressed farmers, unable to recoup their cost of production, are, according to reports, now resorting to protests. They are now dumping potato on busy roads and thoroughfares to symbolically express their miserable plight, intense suffering and outrage. This is being accompanied by rallies and demonstrations demanding fair price and compensation for their product.
Early last month, a farmers' right group unloaded potato near the Secretariat in the capital and held a rally in front of the National Press Club to voice misery, grievances and displeasure. The farmers, they stated, have been burdened and tormented by bumper potato production; they are unable to get satisfactory price or cold storage space to stock the product for future sale at higher than current lower price.
The overproduction brings the price down precipitously as has been the case in the present potato production and marketing situation. The severe shortage of cold storage facilities and the fear about the potatoes getting rotten make the farmers despondent and helpless. They are forced to sell their entire crop at a bargain basement price, way below the cost of production. The farmers claim that the selling price now is about half of their production cost.
Reports say the annual demand for potato in the country is a little more than 8.0 million tonnes. Potato production this year has been close to 10 million tonnes. There is, thus, roughly 20 per cent excess yield. But there are such no major efforts on the part of the government to export it and bring much needed relief for the farmers. In such a way, Bangladesh may earn some amount of foreign exchange.
The problems arising out of bumper production of vegetables are not new. Bangladesh is already burdened with price hikes of some essential items due to increase in international prices. Though potato is being exported in small quantities to some countries in the Middle East, Malaysia and some European Union (EU) countries, Bangladesh could not reach the desired level of its export due to inadequate attention given by successive governments in the past.
There are fairly big markets for potato in the Middle East, the UK, the USA, South Korea and Malaysia. The Bangladeshi workers in those countries may like to have vegetables from the country of their origin because of sentiment, and also the taste of the items. Though some progress has been made during the last few years, it has not been really enough. The country's involvement in an export promotion project, jointly financed by the World Bank and the government of Bangladesh (GOB), revealed a few problems. These is dearth of space to carry perishable items like vegetables, lack of grading of vegetables, too much dependence on commercial exporters, and a very few exporters.
Two years back, the government had launched a programme to popularise the slogan 'Eat more potato and put less pressure on rice' in order to raise the demand for the 'low carbohydrate food'. In support of this claim, the government cited new scientific findings proving that potato contains 80 per cent lower carbohydrate than rice.
The common notion that potato is harmful to diabetics was refuted by the scientists. The country's general masses, including the diabetics, should, therefore, have ample reasons to rejoice. They should be interested to eat more potato now as the price of the food item is quite low. A kilogram (kg) of potato sells at 12 in the retail markets now -- the cheapest vegetable in the kitchen market. Its price is abnormally low in the wholesale markets. A few days back, a super shop was selling potato at Tk 7.0 per kg in its different outlets.
In order to save the farmers from widespread losses, the country's Potato Advisory Board recommended that a portion of the harvest should be exported immediately and storage capacity in the cold storages be enhanced. A study found that speedy export of a consignment might save over 20,000 tonnes of potato from damage, as there is no space available in the country's cold storages. The advisers suggested that the government should help farmers erect bamboo shelves at some convenient places to store surplus potato for the next three months of the dry season. This is, however, a temporary arrangement.
Market analysts say the lending rates of commercial banks between 10 and 12 per cent and lack of diversified uses are major roadblocks to creating a viable market for potato in the country. The industry people also blame the government for its poor or ineffective support for potato-based industry and exports. The country's around 350 cold storages have a capacity for preserving one fourth of its total production, whereas in an ideal situation, storage capacity should not have been more than 1.5 to 1.6 million tonnes.
The government, according to some quarters, needs to buy the potato directly from actual growers at a reasonable price. This is expected to stabilise its price and offer the farmers a helping hand. The government can then offer potato along with rice and wheat to 'food for work' scheme and other such social safety-net or poverty alleviation programmes or sell the item through 'fair price shops or trucks' even if it is at a modest loss. They can distribute the item among the poor and underprivileged and give some to charitable organisations.
Analysts, however, say if the government can repeatedly and frequently enhance the price of electricity and cause immense burden to the people just to reduce the huge subsidy for the quick rental power plants, why can't it take some effective and beneficial steps to increase the potato price and reduce the burden on the farmers?
As an immediate step, the government should hold talks with cold storage owners and potato exporters to find out new markets for potato. In addition, the ministries of food, agriculture and commerce should monitor the trend of domestic consumption of potato. The government should even continue to make a passionate appeal to the people to consume more potatoes and eat less rice, and explain to them the objectives of such a slogan.
szkhan@dhaka.net
Potato growers cry amid lower prices
Shahiduzzaman Khan | Published: April 10, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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