Potato farmers in Rajshahi lament as prices plummet amid lack of storage

Mamun Or Rashid, a farmer in Amsho village of Tanore upazila in Rajshahi, planted potatoes on 130 bighas of leased land this year, and took home a high yield as well.

He harvested 6,000 sacks of potato – each containing 70kgs of the tuber – of which he stored 700 sacks in two cold storage facilities. Unable to reserve more space in cold storages, he had no choice but to accumulate the remaining potatoes in the garden beside his house.

As the potatoes began to rot, Mamun eventually started selling them at a wholesale rate as low as Tk11 a kg.

Talking to The Business Standard yesterday, Mamun said though the production cost this year reached Tk25 per kg of potato, he is now compelled to sell it for Tk11 as those were rotting.

"I will face a loss of Tk80 lakh by selling potatoes at this rate"

He said the preservation of the potatoes would have been possible if they had been kept in cold storage. "But, despite having space, the owners are not unwilling to store potatoes."be

Like Mamun, the farmers who cultivated potatoes in Rajshahi this year are fearing a huge loss as the price is much lower than the production cost. In addition, lack of enough cold storages against the high yield has further worsened the situation.  

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DoE), Rajshahi office, 38,000 farmers cultivated potatoes in the district this year, and the production is 10 lakh tonnes. Of this, farmers managed to store only 4.5 lakh tonnes in cold storage facilities. 

This year, potato cultivation in the district was 3,5000 tonnes higher compared to last year.

According to DoE, the potato production cost this year is Tk22 per kg, including land lease expenses. However, farmers are getting Tk12 per kg in the wholesale market, incurring a loss of Tk10 a kg.

Another farmer, Kamal Uddin, from Mohor village in Tanore upazila, told TBS that as he failed to reserve any cold storage, he sold his entire harvest this year, for Tk10-11 a kg.

He said he has been involved in potato farming for many years, but never produced potatoes at such high costs and sold them at such low rates.

The expenses for land leases, fertilisers, seeds, and pesticides have seen a substantial rise this year compared to other years.