-Farmers sold potatoes at Tk 25. Now they sell at Tk 40
- BD ranks 7th in onion production but 1st in onion imports
- Potato needs in BD is 9 million tons, produced
India has stopped exporting potatoes and onions to various countries including Bangladesh. The West Bengal state government stopped booking slots for exports on Tuesday, saying that it will not supply potatoes and onions produced in the country to other countries. This has stopped the import of potatoes and onions from India through the Hili land port in Dinajpur. The news of the stoppage of imports has increased the prices of all types of potatoes and onions in the country. On the one hand, there is a fear of instability in the prices of these two essential products due to the profit-seeking syndicates inside the country, and on the other hand, the neighboring country India has stopped exporting. As a result, analysts say that if the government cannot deal with the syndicate effectively, the prices of potatoes and onions may skyrocket.
Currently, Indian potatoes are being sold at Tk 70 per kg in the wholesale market, domestic potatoes at Tk 75 and Indian onions at Tk 80 per kg. Domestic onions are being sold at Tk 130 to 150 per kg in the retail market across the country, including Dhaka, and imported onions are being sold at Tk 100 to 120. Traders say that the announcement of India's ban on exports could increase the price of potatoes and onions by Tk 10 to 20 per kg in the next 24 hours.
Onions have not been imported through Hili port since Tuesday morning, but two previously booked trucks of potatoes have been imported. Potatoes were sold at the port at Tk 70 per kg. Although the price of potatoes has increased by Tk 10 per kg in a day, the price of onions remains normal. Last Sunday, 396 tons of onions were imported in 14 trucks and 2,000 tons of potatoes in 72 trucks through this port. After that, the West Bengal state government stopped booking slots for exports. Upon receiving the news of the ban on imports, the Bangladeshi potato and onion syndicate took advantage of the opportunity. It looted hundreds of crores of taka from the market.
However, According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Bangladesh ranks seventh in onion production but number 1 in onion imports. Since production is less than demand, onions are a somewhat import-dependent product. And the business syndicate takes advantage of that opportunity whenever there is a slight fluctuation in the supply chain. Farmers and traders say that there is no shortage of onions in the domestic market. The advance arrival of the N57 variety of onion in the market will not have much impact. Consumer awareness can change the situation to a great extent.
However, the potato market is unstable throughout the year. In April this year, the price of potatoes increased by Tk 15-20 per kg. Behind this, a large syndicate works. Agents appointed by the cold storage buy potatoes from marginal farmers from the land during the peak season. Then, the agents control the storage in the cold storage, marketing, what price will be bought, what price will be sold- everything. The potato market is mainly turbulent throughout the year because of middlemen, stockiest, warehouse owners, cold storage owners and agents.
It has been found that big farmers hand over the potatoes of marginal farmers to cold storage owners and agents. Potatoes are frozen with the connivance of cold storage owners. They store thousands of sacks of potatoes. Then the potatoes from the cold storage go to the market through middlemen or forwarders. From the market, they go to the store. From there, the wholesaler buys them. Finally, from there, they go to the retail level for sale. After going through six rounds in this way, the potatoes reach the buyer. As a result, middlemen, stockholders, warehouse owners and cold storage owners also supervise the sale at higher prices. They grab huge amounts of money on the pretext of artificial crisis or price increase. Various quarters of the government have taken initiatives to break this syndicate, but they have not succeeded. Despite repeated campaigns, the syndicate could not be broken.
The Department of Agricultural Extension says that the current annual demand for potatoes in the country is 9 million tons. The highest potato production is in Munshiganj, Rangpur, Bogra and Joypurhat. The target for cultivation in the 2023-24 fiscal year was set at 462,000 hectares of land. In this, the production target was set at 11.622 million tons. However, at the end of the season, 19.545 million tons of potatoes were produced from 458,560 hectares of land. The production obtained at the end of the year is taken as the target for the next season. In the last season, the yield per hectare was 23.90 tons. Of this, high-yielding potatoes were cultivated on 393,000 hectares of land. And local potatoes were cultivated on 56,505 hectares of land.
A wholesale potato trader from Karwan Bazar, who did not want to be named, said that the traders have increased the price. We have nothing to do. Farmers' sold Tk 25 per kg of potatoes are being sold for Tk 55 to 60 in Dhaka. New potatoes can be sold for Tk 80 per kg. There are raids in the market, but there are no raids in the cold storage or the market.
The Bangladesh Cold Storage Association or Himagar Samiti said in a press conference at the beginning of the year that this year, potatoes will have to be bought for more than Tk 50 per kg throughout the year. However, after making this prediction, the price of potatoes reached 50 taka before the season ended. Even though the potato season came again at the end of the year, the price did not decrease. Instead, they are being sold for Tk 75 to 80.
Bangladesh Cold Storage Association President Mustafa Azad Chowdhury said, this time potatoes have come to the market at higher prices from farmers. Farmers started selling potatoes from the land at Tk 25. Now they are selling them at Tk 40. The price of potatoes stored in cold storage has also increased. Besides, the additional production needed to overcome the potato crisis last year has not been done.
Sakhawat Hossain Shilpi, president of the Import-Exporter Group of Hili Land Port, said, to import goods from India, the state government has to book slots in West Bengal, which is through the online system. Indian exporters said that the online system was suddenly closed on Sunday. As a result, they are not able to book slots.
In this regard, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Dr Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian said, new potatoes have started coming to the market. If consumers start buying new potatoes, the demand for old potatoes will naturally decrease. We have taken various steps regarding the price of potato seeds and supply of fertilizers.
ZH
