Potato growers hit hard by low price
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
Our Correspondent
RANGPUR, Nov 2: Potato growers and traders in 8 districts of Rangpur division are about to lose their investments despite bumper production last year.
In the hope of earning better profits, farmers and traders stored potato in cold storage, but the sharp fall in prices dashed their hope.
Abdul Gani, potato trader of Rangpur town said he had so far spent Tk 1100, including purchasing and storage cost, on a sack of potato. He said he has to face a loss of Tk 400 per sack as its current market price is Tk 600-700, adding that he had preserved 25,000 sacks of potato, purchasing a sack for Tk 800-850.
As per the current market situation, he has to face a loss of Tk 400 per sack, he said. He also said he had to buy a sack of potato for Tk 800-850 last seasons and spent Tk 283 per sack on cold storage and other charges. Farmers and traders who stored their potato in the cold storage are not taking out their stock now and so cold storage owners themselves are repeatedly reminding them of doing so.
According to sources, there are about 5 lakh metric tonnes of potato in different cold storages of the 8 northern districts of Rangpur division.
Potato stocks are not being taken out in fear of the loss that that the traders will have to face if they sell their stored potatoes at the current market price.
Some storage owners recently served notice on farmers and traders through local dailies and loudspeakers to take out their stock. The storage owners also warned that they would realise outstanding charges from the traders in case of their missing the deadline.
Former president of Rangpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mostafa Azad Chowdhury who owns Mostafa cold storage at Mithapukur upazilla, admitted the predicament. "The delivery of potato from the storages is far low this year compared to last year because of the sharp fall in potato prices," he said.
"Surplus production last year resulted in the low price of the crop in the market," he said explaining the reason behind the sharp fall in potato prices.
MG Neogi, the Agriculture coordinator of Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service [RDRS] Bangladesh said, said potato farming in the north had become lucrative over the past few years. It created trade and job opportunities in the rural areas of the districts. The farmers will lose interest in growing potato if they were not protected from this adverse circumstances.
RANGPUR, Nov 2: Potato growers and traders in 8 districts of Rangpur division are about to lose their investments despite bumper production last year.
In the hope of earning better profits, farmers and traders stored potato in cold storage, but the sharp fall in prices dashed their hope.
Abdul Gani, potato trader of Rangpur town said he had so far spent Tk 1100, including purchasing and storage cost, on a sack of potato. He said he has to face a loss of Tk 400 per sack as its current market price is Tk 600-700, adding that he had preserved 25,000 sacks of potato, purchasing a sack for Tk 800-850.
As per the current market situation, he has to face a loss of Tk 400 per sack, he said. He also said he had to buy a sack of potato for Tk 800-850 last seasons and spent Tk 283 per sack on cold storage and other charges. Farmers and traders who stored their potato in the cold storage are not taking out their stock now and so cold storage owners themselves are repeatedly reminding them of doing so.
According to sources, there are about 5 lakh metric tonnes of potato in different cold storages of the 8 northern districts of Rangpur division.
Potato stocks are not being taken out in fear of the loss that that the traders will have to face if they sell their stored potatoes at the current market price.
Some storage owners recently served notice on farmers and traders through local dailies and loudspeakers to take out their stock. The storage owners also warned that they would realise outstanding charges from the traders in case of their missing the deadline.
Former president of Rangpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mostafa Azad Chowdhury who owns Mostafa cold storage at Mithapukur upazilla, admitted the predicament. "The delivery of potato from the storages is far low this year compared to last year because of the sharp fall in potato prices," he said.
"Surplus production last year resulted in the low price of the crop in the market," he said explaining the reason behind the sharp fall in potato prices.
MG Neogi, the Agriculture coordinator of Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service [RDRS] Bangladesh said, said potato farming in the north had become lucrative over the past few years. It created trade and job opportunities in the rural areas of the districts. The farmers will lose interest in growing potato if they were not protected from this adverse circumstances.