Low price may discourage Rajshahi potato farmers
Monday, 27 October 2008
Our Correspondent
RAJSHAHI, Oct 26: Potato cultivation may decrease in future in Rajshahi region as the potato farmers and businessmen are not getting fair price of the produce.
According to farmers, they are not getting return of their production cost even after selling the stored potato. At present, they are selling each sack of potato from Tk 980 to Tk 1,020. Thus the farmers and potato hoarders are incurring a loss of taka 300 per sack.
This price may decline further as a huge stock of potatoes are lying at various cold storages and at the houses of the farmers. Moreover, a large quantity of Indian smuggled and imported potato has flooded the local markets.
According to businessmen in Rajshahi Shaheb Bazaar, at the first phase of this season, every sack of potato was sold from Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,100 against the purchasing price of Tk 1,300 to 1,400 including cold storage charge, vehicle charge and cost of sacks.
State-awarded potato farmer Rahim Sarker cultivated potato on 12 bighas of land this season at the cost of around Tk 25000 per bigha. He had stored 500 sacks of potato in cold storage and then sold 300 sacks of potato at taka 1,050 to 1,100 per sack. But if he sells the remaining stock at the present rate, he will face a huge loss.
Sarker fears that the high price of fertilisers may push potato cultivation down next season. Sources said, last year 75 per cent of all stored potatoes were sold whereas the percentage of sold potatoes is not even 60 per cent this year.
RAJSHAHI, Oct 26: Potato cultivation may decrease in future in Rajshahi region as the potato farmers and businessmen are not getting fair price of the produce.
According to farmers, they are not getting return of their production cost even after selling the stored potato. At present, they are selling each sack of potato from Tk 980 to Tk 1,020. Thus the farmers and potato hoarders are incurring a loss of taka 300 per sack.
This price may decline further as a huge stock of potatoes are lying at various cold storages and at the houses of the farmers. Moreover, a large quantity of Indian smuggled and imported potato has flooded the local markets.
According to businessmen in Rajshahi Shaheb Bazaar, at the first phase of this season, every sack of potato was sold from Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,100 against the purchasing price of Tk 1,300 to 1,400 including cold storage charge, vehicle charge and cost of sacks.
State-awarded potato farmer Rahim Sarker cultivated potato on 12 bighas of land this season at the cost of around Tk 25000 per bigha. He had stored 500 sacks of potato in cold storage and then sold 300 sacks of potato at taka 1,050 to 1,100 per sack. But if he sells the remaining stock at the present rate, he will face a huge loss.
Sarker fears that the high price of fertilisers may push potato cultivation down next season. Sources said, last year 75 per cent of all stored potatoes were sold whereas the percentage of sold potatoes is not even 60 per cent this year.