Two workers are sorting potatoes in a cold storage. However, sales in the cold storage have almost stopped due to the massive price drop. Recently, at the Bikrampur Multipurpose Cold Storage in the Muktarpur area of Munshiganj Sadar Upazila. Photo Collected
Farmers and traders in the district are facing complete losses due to storing potatoes in cold storage in Munshiganj. While it costs 26 to 28 taka to produce and store one kilogram of potatoes, it is being sold wholesale in cold storage for only 8 taka. Excluding cold storage rent and labor costs, farmers and traders are left with only 52 to 68 paisa per kilogram of potatoes.
Local farmers and traders said that this year, production costs, including seeds, fertilizers, and land rent, have almost doubled compared to other years. This means that 17-19 taka is spent on producing one kilogram of potatoes, three taka on sorting and packaging, and another six taka on storing in cold storage. But the wholesale price of one kilogram of potatoes in cold storage is now 8 taka. Even at this price, there are no buyers.
Sahara Begum, a farmer from the Hamidpur area of Charkewar union in Munshiganj Sadar upazila, told Prothom Alo, "We don't know any other job. After my husband had a stroke, I cultivated potatoes on 3 acres of 20 percent land with my three sons and daughters. For this, about three and a half lakh taka had to be borrowed. Since potatoes were not sold at a reasonable price, the burden of all the loans is now on the shoulders.’
There are no buyers, even at the price of water
According to the information of the District Agricultural Extension Department, potatoes have been cultivated on 34,758 hectares of land in Munshiganj district this year. And the potato production has been more than 10,82,538 metric tons. Of this, 5,23,335 metric tons of potatoes have been stored in 61 cold storages. After the sale, 2,87,490 metric tons are still in stock. Of this potato, 1,90,465 metric tons are eaten potatoes, and the remaining 97,025 metric tons have been kept as seeds. Last year, only 1,47,587 metric tons were in stock at the same time.
Deputy Director of the District Agricultural Extension Department, Md. Habibur Rahman said, "Potato cultivation is part of the passion and tradition of Munshiganj farmers. Even if the price drops, they do not stop producing potatoes. The government had promised to buy potatoes at Tk 22 per kg; if that was implemented, the farmers could survive. As far as I know, the government is continuing its efforts." He also said that potato export initiatives and potato-based industries should be developed to save the farmers. In addition, farmers in Munshiganj are being encouraged to cultivate sunflowers and seasonal vegetables.
If you sort a 50-kg sack, you get 48 kg of potatoes. At Tk 8 per kg, each sack is sold for Tk 384. Out of this, cold storage rent is Tk 300; labor cost is Tk 1 per kg. In this, you sell one sack of potatoes and get Tk 34 or 68 paisa per kg.
On the spot, I recently visited "Allied Cold Storage", "Bikrampur Multipurpose", "Dewan Cold Storage", and "Kadam Rasul Cold Storage" in Muktarpur, Munshiganj, and found practically no activity. A few workers were only sorting potatoes in each cold storage.
Farmer Badsha Mia at "Dewan Cold Storage" said, 'If you sort a 50 kg sack, you get 48 kg of potatoes. At the price of 8 taka per kg, each sack is sold for 384 taka. Out of this, the cold storage rent is 300 taka; measuring, sorting, and transporting costs 50 taka per sack, and the labor cost is 1 taka per kg. In that, after selling a sack of potatoes, you have 34 taka or 68 paisa per kg. So I am throwing away the potatoes.'
A businessman named Fajr Ali at "Bikrampur Multipurpose Cold Storage" said, 'Four days ago, I bought 6,000 sacks of potatoes at the price of 10 taka per kg. Now the price has come down to 8 taka. Loss of 6 lakh taka in just four days.’
Announcement of 22 taka per kg, not implemented
Last August, potatoes were being sold in cold storage for 12.5 to 13 taka. At that time, almost half of the farmers were losing money. In such a situation, on August 27, the Ministry of Agriculture set the minimum price of potatoes in cold storage at 22 taka and announced the purchase of 50,000 metric tons of potatoes through the government initiative. At that time, the Department of Agricultural Extension put up banners at the same level as the cold storage, mentioning the price of potatoes at 22 taka per kg. This made farmers and traders keeping potatoes in cold storage optimistic. But in reality, none of the government’s announcements were implemented; that is, just as potatoes were not sold at 22 taka per kg, the government did not start purchasing 50,000 metric tons of potatoes either.
Businessman Babul Paik said that after the government announcement, many people stopped selling potatoes in the hope of an increase in prices. Some had even bought potatoes at 13-14 taka per kg. In the end, the government put everyone in danger by not buying potatoes.
Rizaul Karim, manager of Nippon Ice and Cold Storage, said, "During the season, we had 181,000 bags of potatoes in our cold storage. There are still 75,000 bags. More than half of the potatoes are lying in many cold storage facilities in the district. Farmers are not harvesting potatoes, nor are they paying rent. These potatoes will be spoiled after November." Munshiganj Agricultural Marketing Officer ABM Mizanul Haque said, "Although the government announced to buy potatoes at Tk 22 per kg, no purchase has actually taken place. No one from the Commerce Ministry has contacted us. Now the prices are decreasing day by day. New potatoes will come to the market in November, then there will be no demand for old potatoes."
Source: Online/GFMM
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