Farmers in quandary with huge unsold potato in Rajshahi
Saturday, 11 October 2008
RAJSHAHI, Oct 10 (BSS): Farmers and businessmen have been facing an awkward situation with huge quantities of unsold potato owing to its low price in the markets of the district.
Sources said the farmers and businessmen are incurring a loss of about Tk 300 per sack of potato. In this situation, they fear that there will be a decline in potato cultivation in the next season.
Talking to the news agency they viewed the production cost is not recovered after selling potato stored in the cold storages due to reduced price. At present, the price of a sack of 85-kilogramme potato is Tk 980 to Tk 1,020 and there has been apprehension of further decline in the rate with the appearance of early varieties of winter vegetables.
During the harvesting period, the price of 85-kilogramme sack was Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,100, whereas the production cost was Tk 1,300 to Tk 1,400 per sack including the rent of cold storage and transportation cost, they added.
Rahim Uddin Sarker, a national award winning potato-farmer of Paba Upazila in the district, said he had cultivated potato in 12 bighas of land spending Tk 25,000 to Tk 26,000 per bigha and stored 500 sacks of potato in cold storage.
He sold out 300 sacks of potato at the rate of Tk 1,050 to Tk 1,100 and the rest 200 sacks remained stockpiled in the cold storage.
Sources said the farmers and businessmen are incurring a loss of about Tk 300 per sack of potato. In this situation, they fear that there will be a decline in potato cultivation in the next season.
Talking to the news agency they viewed the production cost is not recovered after selling potato stored in the cold storages due to reduced price. At present, the price of a sack of 85-kilogramme potato is Tk 980 to Tk 1,020 and there has been apprehension of further decline in the rate with the appearance of early varieties of winter vegetables.
During the harvesting period, the price of 85-kilogramme sack was Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,100, whereas the production cost was Tk 1,300 to Tk 1,400 per sack including the rent of cold storage and transportation cost, they added.
Rahim Uddin Sarker, a national award winning potato-farmer of Paba Upazila in the district, said he had cultivated potato in 12 bighas of land spending Tk 25,000 to Tk 26,000 per bigha and stored 500 sacks of potato in cold storage.
He sold out 300 sacks of potato at the rate of Tk 1,050 to Tk 1,100 and the rest 200 sacks remained stockpiled in the cold storage.