News on Potato Stats, Trade, Prices from Bangladesh

The Bangladesh Cold Storage Association (BCSA) has requested the government to suspend potato imports to protect the country's farmers from a financial disaster.

With domestic production down by 1.2 million tons, potato imports have become crucial as political unrest, a government change, and severe flooding further strain the situation.

High input cost and unfavorable weather hit potato output in Bangladesh, with late blight causing added damage.

After Cyclone Michaung, heavy rains caused crop damage, leading to a decrease in supply and subsequent price spikes. Potato prices may remain high until the affected areas recover their potato production capacity.

With national elections scheduled for January 7, 2024, the Bangladesh government has implemented measures to address the alarming surge in potato prices.

Bangladesh Commerce Ministry, in a report, says high prices are the result of price manipulation by a syndicate of cold-storage owners.

The first-ever shipments of 77 tonnes of potatoes have arrived from India for domestic consumption in Bangladesh - traditionally an exporter of the root vegetable - amid government efforts to ease the price.

Potato prices in Bangladesh are soaring even though farmers this year grew a record 1.04 crore tonnes, cutting the buying power of consumers, especially fixed and low-income people already battered by sustained high inflation.

Frequent power outages in Bangladesh are driving up the costs of potato storage, ultimately burdening people already struggling with escalating prices of essential food items.

A Japanese company has expressed interest to import potatoes from Bangladesh, said Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque. The minister said this while addressing a program at Westin Hotel in Tokyo on Thursday (April 27).

State-run Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation and private entity National Group Russia for Potato Export are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding today over the export of potato from Bangladesh to Russia.

The annual demand for potatoes in Bangladesh is about 9 million tons. The Bangladesh Cold Storage Association (BCSA) urged the government to provide a BDT 9 (USD 0.11) subsidy per kilogram of potato stored in various cold storages in the country.

Facing excess potatoes, the government of Bangladesh has decided to provide all sorts of support for both export and processing

Potatoes produced by contract growers of the Bangladesh Agricultural Corporation (BADC) are now being exported to Malaysia.

How do Agrico seed potatoes find their way to Bangladesh? The journey starts with the sale of the seed potatoes.

Bangladesh imports over 2,000 tons of seed potato from the Netherlands. Varieties include Diamond, Carolus, Margarita, Barcelona, and Accent.

Potato was sold for Tk 42 to Tk 48 a kg in retail markets in the capital yesterday, a day after the government fixed the retail price at Tk 35.

This year, the potato harvest in Bangladesh was about 150% of what the domestic need is. As a result prices have crashed and despite the high yields, farmers suffer as the can not sell their product.