Potato Prices Crash in Rangpur Division, Farmers Facing Heavy Losses

A sharp price drop has been observed in the potato market in the Rangpur Region. Although the government has officially fixed the price of potatoes at 22 taka per kilogram, there is no reflection of that price in the actual market. After deducting cold storage and other costs, farmers are receiving only about five taka, causing growers to suffer significant losses.

Potato farmers say they are now in distress after cultivating potatoes.

According to data from the Department of Agricultural Extension, potatoes have been cultivated on about 66,280 hectares of land in Rangpur district this season. Around 2 million tons of potatoes have been produced. However, storage facilities are very limited compared to production. The district has only 40 cold storage facilities, with a total capacity of about 460,000 tons. This means that less than one-fourth of the total production can be stored.

There has been a large potato harvest in Sadar Upazila, Mithapukur, Pirganj, Gangachara, Kaunia, Pirgacha, Badarganj, and Taraganj of the district. Among them, the char areas of the Teesta River in Gangachara Upazila have produced the highest amount of potatoes.

According to data from the Agricultural Marketing Department, currently 461,747 tons of potatoes are stored in the district’s cold storage facilities. Of this, only 101,594 tons have been released so far, which is less than one-fourth of the total stock. Due to low demand in the market, the tendency to release potatoes from cold storage is also low.

Meanwhile, potato cultivation for the new season is scheduled to begin from the first week of October. Within just two months, those potatoes will also enter the market. Therefore, concerned stakeholders fear that a large quantity of potatoes stored in cold storage may rot if they cannot be sold in time.

According to farmers’ calculations, producing one kilogram of potatoes at the field level costs about 18 to 20 taka. When the costs of sacks, transportation, and cold storage are added, the total cost rises to more than 30 taka per kilogram. However, potatoes are currently being sold in the market for only 7 to 8 taka per kilogram, depending on the variety. After deducting cold storage rent and other costs, farmers are left with only about five taka.

In the eight districts of the Rangpur Division, potatoes have been cultivated on about 225,985 hectares of land this year. The total production has reached approximately 5,668,992 tons. However, only 1,109,692 tons of potatoes could be stored in the division’s 116 cold storage facilities. As a result, farmers are facing huge losses due to storage shortages and falling prices.

According to calculations by the Department of Agriculture, losses of around 19.97 billion taka have occurred this year from potatoes stored in cold storage alone.

Visits to various cold storage facilities in Rangpur show that potatoes are currently being sold at 7 to 8 taka per kilogram, depending on the variety. However, due to the low number of buyers, there is little activity in the cold storage facilities; most sheds are almost empty.

Potato trader Md. Mostafa from Rangpur said that he cultivated potatoes on four acres of land at a cost of about 850,000 taka. The production cost was about 20 taka per kilogram. Since prices were slightly higher at the beginning of the season, he stored 700 sacks of potatoes in cold storage.

He said, “Last month I was forced to sell 300 sacks of potatoes at 12 taka per kilogram. But after deducting the cold storage rent of 6.75 taka per kilogram, I received only 5.25 taka, which caused a huge loss.”

A similar picture has been seen at the NN Cold Storage. About 260,000 sacks of potatoes have been stored there, but only 45,000 sacks have been released so far.

Farmer Tofazzal Hossain from Taraganj Upazila said, “It costs us about 20 taka to produce one kilogram of potatoes. Including sacks, transportation, and other expenses, it exceeds 30 taka. But we have to sell them in the market at 7–8 taka. After deducting cold storage costs, only five taka remains. So where is the government buying potatoes at 22 taka?”

He added that in this situation many farmers may withdraw from potato cultivation in the next season.

Sirajul Islam, Additional Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Rangpur, said that farmers would benefit somewhat if the government purchases potatoes officially in the Rangpur region. However, no specific instructions have been received yet in this regard. At the field level, farmers are being advised to cultivate potatoes in a planned manner.

Experts believe that instability in the potato market occurs every year due to excess production, lack of adequate storage facilities, and weak market management. If timely government procurement and export opportunities are not increased, farmers may lose interest in potato cultivation in the next season.