Govt shelves plan to buy 50,000 tonnes of potatoes
After months of promises, the interim government has withdrawn its plan to purchase 50,000 tonnes of potatoes, which was aimed at protecting farmers from losses as market prices fell below production costs.
A senior official from the Ministry of Commerce, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a meeting between the agriculture and commerce ministries was held about a week ago.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. "The government's plan to buy potatoes directly from farmers was discussed at length," the official said. "But it was concluded that the move would not benefit farmers at this stage. Instead, cold storage owners and middlemen would gain."
The official added that the government is now working on incentive measures for the upcoming season to ensure that farmers benefit directly.
The planting season for potatoes runs from October to November, while harvesting takes place from February to April, according to the Agriculture Information Service.
Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian, secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, said potato prices are now rising in the market, selling for Tk 20 to Tk 25 per kilogramme (kg). "If the government now sells potatoes at an even lower price, it could create a negative impact on the market," he said.
He added that discussions with stakeholders showed the earlier plan to buy potatoes would no longer be effective. "Implementing it now would harm the market, so the government has withdrawn the decision," Emdad Ullah Mian said.
He also noted that farmers and traders usually need to take potatoes out of cold storage by November. However, on November 18, the ministry asked storage owners to allow to keep potatoes until December, and owners agreed.
Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu, president of the Bangladesh Cold Storage Association, said that last August, potatoes were sold at cold storages for Tk 12 to Tk 14 per kg.
"The price has now risen in the northern region, where potatoes are being sold at Tk 16 to Tk 20 per kg. In the Munshiganj zone, they are selling for Tk 14 to Tk 15 per kg," he added.
Babu also said, "Currently, about 13.75 lakh tonnes of potatoes are stored in cold storages across the country. Of this, 6.90 lakh tonnes are table potatoes, and the rest are seed potatoes."
Renowned agriculture economist Jahangir Alam Khan criticised the government's reversal. "The government announced it would buy 50,000 tonnes of potatoes, but then backed down. Nothing was purchased. This shows negligence toward farmers," he said.
"Potatoes have become the biggest problem this season, causing significant losses for farmers. The government's failure to address this is a major management issue," he added.
"The current market price of potatoes is below production cost," Khan said. "After including cold-storage and other expenses, the price should be around Tk 25 to Tk 27 per kg. The government set it at Tk 22 at the cold-storage level, but even that is not being achieved."
He further noted, "If the government had purchased even 10 percent of the total production, the market price would have risen and stabilised, allowing stockholders to release their potatoes gradually."
THE PROCUREMENT PLAN
In late August this year, the interim government decided to procure 50,000 tonnes of potatoes to protect farmers amid falling market prices.
The procured potatoes were to be stored in cold storages and sold during the October–November period, the agriculture ministry said in a press release on August 27.
The government also set a minimum selling price of Tk 22 per kg at the cold storage gate.
After reports showed that potato prices were below production costs, the chief adviser formed a four-member review committee to address farmers' concerns and protect their livelihoods.
The committee, chaired by the agriculture secretary, also included the commerce, food, and finance secretaries.
Based on the committee's recommendations, the panel, tasked with ensuring a fair price for this season's potatoes, finalised the procurement amount.
At the start of the last potato season, many farmers had to sell their produce at the field level for as low as Tk 11 per kg, well below the Department of Agricultural Extension's (DAE) estimated average production cost of Tk 14.
In some northern regions, where cultivation costs are higher, production expenses reached up to Tk 20 per kg, according to DAE data.
Bangladesh produced 1.15 crore tonnes of potatoes last season, the highest in history, estimates the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
An increase in cultivation area and higher yields due to favourable weather helped boost overall production of the popular vegetable this year, the BBS said.
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