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Potato exports have almost doubled in the first eight months of the current fiscal year as the price of potatoes in the local market is low compared to the cost of production. According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), about 24,000 tons of potatoes have been exported till March 15 of the current fiscal year. This is almost double compared to the last fiscal year. About 12,000 tons of potatoes were exported in February alone, which is equal to the total export of the previous fiscal year.
Many farmers in the northwestern part of the country sold potatoes for an average of 11 taka per kilogram. However, the Department of Agricultural Extension estimates that the cost of producing potatoes per kilogram is about 14 taka. Experts believe that the increase in exports is due to record potato cultivation. Potatoes were cultivated on 524,000 hectares of land in the current fiscal year, which is 15 percent more than the previous fiscal year.
About 9,000 tons of potatoes have been exported to Nepal, Malaysia and Singapore this year. According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, potato exports have increased this year due to low prices. Exports have increased by about 80 percent in the current fiscal year compared to the total exports of the last fiscal year. This year, exporters are able to buy potatoes from the local market at a price of 10 to 20 taka per kg, whereas last year they had to buy them at a price of 30 to 40 taka per kg.
An exporter said that in the current fiscal year, he had exported about 8,400 tons of potatoes to Malaysia, Singapore, Nepal and Bahrain. This year, he has been able to buy potatoes at about 10 taka per kg, whereas last year he had to buy them at 30 taka. Another exporter said that this year, due to low prices, he has been able to export 1,300 tons of potatoes to Sri Lanka. Traders are exporting potatoes with high demand like Granola, Diamond-7 and Majestic.
According to sources from the Rangpur division of the Department of Agricultural Extension, despite high production, exporters are facing a crisis due to the low quantity of good-quality potatoes. The Department of Agricultural Extension has advised farmers to cultivate export-oriented varieties like Granola, Santana and Kumari. In the future, emphasis has been placed on increasing the cultivation of these varieties and solving the cold storage crisis.
According to the government marketing agency Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the retail price of potatoes in Dhaka is 20 to 30 taka, but prices have started increasing at the farmer level. According to the Cold Storage Association, the total production is expected to be 12 million tons in the current fiscal year.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Bangladesh started exporting potatoes in 1999, although there was very little export at that time. According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, Bangladesh has exported an average of about 50,000 tons of potatoes in the last nine years since the fiscal year 2015-16. However, exports in the last fiscal year decreased compared to the previous fiscal year.
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