Potato price has started to increase which has brought astounding profit for the seasonal stockists and traders when the most of the growers failed to get even their production cost, said farmers and experts.
The retail price of potato of granola and diamond varieties has increased by Tk4-5 (28-29 per cent) per kg and sold at Tk16-20 for last ten days across the country, according to sources in Rangpur, Rajshahi, Jessore, Sylhet and Dhaka regions.
The price increased to Tk 16 per kilogram at retail level from Tk 10 two week back in Rangpur. The price jumped to Tk18-20 a kilogram in Dhaka city markets from Tk12-14 two weeks back.
The price hike has come as a great fortune for the big traders, seasonal stockists and cold storage owners but deprives consumers and growers.
Md Alauddin Ali, a fruits vendor at Nawabganj Bazar in the city told the FE: "From the media news I have come to know that potato farmers are selling their produce at below Tk2 per kg in the village area."
"But the scenario is different in city markets. Potato is being sold at Tk18-20 and indigenous varieties at Tk30-32 per kg here," he said.
Md Al Mansur, a farmer at Laldighi area under Badarganj upazila in Rangpur district told the FE on cell phone that they have failed to get back half of their investment this year.
He said granola variety is now trading at Tk550-600 per sack (85 kg) at the mokams (wholesale markets) which they sold at Tk180-200 per sack in February-March.
"I cultivated potato at four bighas of land where I spent Tk40,000. I got 94 sack of potato of which sold 88 sacks at Tk18,500," he said.
He said traders and cold storage owners have been making windfall profits by using their huge capital and storage facility.
"A little portion of potatoes is still at my home, after end of the stock, I will have to buy it at higher prices from the market", he said.
He said that less than two per cent farmers have access to the cold storages.
According to the Bangladesh Cold Storage Association (BCSA), the country has a storage capacity of 4 million tonnes of potato at 390 cold storages, 48 per cent of the total production.
Farm economist Golam Hafiz Kennedy said 98 per cent of the country's farmers have no access to private run cold storages which forces them to sell produces as early as possible after harvesting.
He said government's loan facility hardly reach the door of the marginal farmers who covered three-fourths of the peasantry.
"Public storage capacity should be increased significantly to save the farmers from price debacle and the government will have to ensure agricultural loan for the small-scale farmers", he said.
He said potato export will have to be increased which might also give some sort of relief to the farmers.
When asked secretary of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Advocate Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan said market monitoring has to be increased by the government to tackle the manipulation of price.
He said that CAB has found from 600 to 800 per cent price differences of potato between growers' level and city retail level which is highest in the globe.
BCSA chairman Md Jasim Uddin said many new cold storages have emerged recently in North Bengal who attracted a huge number of traders to stock potato.
Talking to the FE he pointed out that the recent rain has forced many of big growers to sell the item or store it in cold storages that may have caused the price hike.
He urged for distributing potato in the government's social safety net programmes like VGF, Food for Work, VGD etc along with rice and wheat.
He said the government can procure at least 1.0 million tonnes of potato from the farmers which could have a significant impact in the market.
However, Bangladeshi businesses exports 0.11 million tonnes of potatoes in FY'14, according to Bangladesh Potato Exporters Association (BPEA).
The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) data showed potato production was a record 8.9 million tonnes in 2013-14 while target has been fixed to get 8.7 million tonnes in the ongoing financial year (FY'15).
Bangladesh is the seventh largest potato grower in the globe.
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