Stored potato prices have further increased to Tk 80 a kg, marking a Tk 10 rise per kg.
The all-time high price had already put consumers in a fix, said insiders.
The previous record was in August 2021 when prices reached Tk 65-70 a kg.
Delayed harvest of advance varieties, growing demand for seed, market manipulation by cold storage owners and traders, import halt, and production data mismatch were the key factors behind prices reaching the new high, said market observers.
Arman Habib, a potato trader at Mohammadpur Krishi Market in the capital, told The Financial Express potato prices in cold storage had gone up to Tk 68-70 a kg from Tk 56-58 a kg a few days back.
He said they were selling potato to retailers at Tk 78-80 a kg, adding prices at cold storage gates had increased by Tk 15-20 a kg in the last three weeks.
Cold storage owners as well as big traders were cashing in on potato sales, the trader further said.
Ataul Gani, a trader at Karwan Bazar, said the harvest of advance potato varieties mainly grown in Nilphamari, Rangpur, and Lalmonirhat had been delayed this year for adverse weather in August.
He said the production of such varieties had also declined this year like last year, sustaining the demand for stored potato. He also said imports had almost stopped amid rocketing prices in neighbouring India.
Md Altaf Hossain, manager (potato seed) at the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC), told The Financial Express the demand for seed was higher in ongoing peak cultivation season. He said the prices of seed, marketed by the private sector, were above Tk 85 a kg.
The country's demand for seeds was 0.75-0.8 million tonnes while BADC had distributed nearly 37,000 tonnes, said the official. "Many farmers earlier sold potatoes intended to be used as seeds as they got good prices, which has also created some difficulties."
Farm economist Prof Rashidul Hasan said there was a huge gap between actual production and the exaggerated data provided by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
According to BBS, potato production was 10.6 million tonnes in FY24 while the Bangladesh Cold Storage Association claims it was 9 million tonnes.
Prof Hasan said potato prices remained high all over the year while the country also imported 0.11 million tonnes, which clearly indicated a fall in production.
He said all cold storage facilities should be directed to release potato stock data and owners' information to the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM).
"They will have to be brought under scrutiny to maintain a balance in the market," added the economist.
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