Traders will incur a loss of around Tk 175 crore as there is bleak chance for clearing the stocks, some traders and owners of cold storages told this correspondent.

This will also incur heavy losses to at least 30 cold storage owners because traders will not pay the rent if they do not lift the potatoes. The stocks will be burdens on cold storage owners.

Arrival of newly harvested potato in the market has aggravated the situation.

"The market price has fallen drastically, particularly in northern districts, due to import of Indian potato and so traders are not lifting the stocks," said Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu, owner of Foyezunnecha Cold Storage at Deuti in Pirgachhagacha upzila in Rangpur district.

Indian potato for consumption was imported in huge quantities in the name of seed potato in the last two months, Babu said.

November 15 was the deadline for traders and farmers to lift their stocks from cold storages in Rangpur, Kurigram, Gibandha, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari.

Only one third of the stocks, mainly seed potato stored by farmers, has been lifted, he said.

The potato traders generally lift their stocks during September- December every year because the price remains high at that time.

This year, some of the importers imported potato for consumption in the name of seed potato, creating a glut in the market.

This correspondent talked to a number of potato farmers and traders in Rangpur and Kurigram.

Most of them said they did not lift their stocks from the cold storage due to very low price in the market.

"If I lift my stock after paying the cold storage rent, I will incur a loss of Tk 200 per 80 kg bag," said Abdul Majid a big potato farmers in Mahiganj in Rangpur Sader upzila.

Mosaddeque Hossen Bablu, owner of Northern Cold Storage Ltd, said even an auction on December 26 to clear the stocks failed to attract any buyer.

"The problem lies elsewhere," said Masum, owner of Shapla Cold Storage at Mithapukur.

He said, "Most of the cold storage owners lend money to potato farmers and traders on their stored potato. They do it every year. They recover their loan money when the depositors release their potato."

Import of potato for consumption was not allowed this year. But a large number of importers imported potato for consumption in the name of seed potato and supplied those to markets at much lower rates.

Khondoker Tafakharul Islam, a big farmer in Mahiganj said the government should stop import of seed potato also.

If farmers incur loss in large scale, cultivation of the cash crop will dwindle, he said.