Rajshahi potato farmers losing Tk 11 a kg, capital wiped out as cold storages stay full

In the Rajshahi region, the early potato harvest will begin within about another month. Yet more than half of last year's potatoes still lie unsold in the cold storages of the region. Potato farmers and traders are in deep trouble over this.

On one hand, the storage owners have given notice to vacate the cold storages by 30 November. The storages must be prepared between January and February to store next season's potatoes. On the other hand, the wholesale price of potatoes in the market is now very low, only Tk 12 to 14 a kg. But the cost of production and cold storage rent together comes to Tk 22 to 25 a kg. That means a loss of about Tk 11 on every kg of potatoes. Thousands of farmers and traders in Rajshahi are losing their capital this way.

It is learnt that the retail price of potatoes in Rajshahi is currently Tk 15 to 20 a kg, while the wholesale price is Tk 12 to 14. With demand and prices low in the market, farmers and traders are not taking their potatoes out of cold storage.

According to the Rajshahi Cold Storage Owners Association, about 6.5 lakh metric tonnes of potatoes were stored in 80 lakh sacks across 36 cold storages in the district. About half of that has been taken out. One-third of the remainder will be used as seed potatoes. That means about 1 lakh 50 thousand tonnes of potatoes still remain unsold. Meanwhile, the new early-variety potatoes will start arriving within the next one to one-and-a-half months, when selling the old potatoes will become difficult.

Potato farmer Sheikh Mobinur Rahman of Basantakedar village in Mohanpur upazila said he had kept 250 sacks of potatoes at Uttara Store in Paba upazila. The cost of producing each kg of potatoes and taking it to cold storage was Tk 22 to 25. Now the wholesale price per kg is Tk 12 to 14. On average, he is losing Tk 11 a kg. Selling potatoes at this price does not even cover the cold storage rent.

Sheikh Mobin added, 'Thousands of potato farmers like me are now caught in a dilemma. Taking the potatoes out is a problem, and keeping them in cold storage is also a problem. If we do not take them out, the cold storage owners will sell them at auction to recover the rent.'

Fazlur Rahman, general secretary of the Rajshahi Cold Storage Owners Association, said that under the agreement with farmers and traders, potatoes are to be kept until 30 November. Considering the market situation and the farmers' plight, they may have to be kept for a few more days, but the storages must be emptied by December. Last year the storages made announcements by loudspeaker asking farmers to take their potatoes out, and if the situation demands it this year, notices will be followed by similar announcements.

Helal Uddin, a potato trader from the Baya area of Rajshahi, said at most one more month would be available to take potatoes out of cold storage. But how and where such a huge quantity of potatoes can be sold within just one month is the big question, he said. He added that 60 percent of the potatoes they stored are still in cold storage, and taking them out does not even recover the storage rent, let alone the production cost.

Ali Ashraf Hossain, manager of Asma Cold Storage in Baya, said that despite the notice, farmers are not taking their potatoes out. After 30 December, no potatoes can be kept. If farmers do not take them out, they will be sold at auction to recover the rent.

Meanwhile, Iftekharul Islam, general secretary of the Rajshahi District Potato and Raw Materials Traders Association, said potato farmers and small traders in Rajshahi have suffered badly over the past two seasons, and farmers are again facing huge losses this time. Small traders who buy potatoes are also suffering losses, and thousands of farmers and small traders in Rajshahi have been left with nothing.

He said it is impossible to recover costs by selling potatoes at this price, and many are thinking of not growing potatoes anymore. He said that while the government thinks about many things, it is taking no steps to ease the plight of potato farmers.