Import of potatoes recommended to control prices

The government had set prices of potatoes for cold storage and retailers to control the soaring prices, followed by nonstop raids at markets and monitoring of cold storage by the Directorate of National Consumers Rights Protection (DNCRP) across the country. Yet the price set by the government was not effective.

As the DNCRP has been unable to curb the soaring prices, the agency has recommended to the commerce ministry that traders be permitted to import potatoes on a limited scale. The DNCRP included these recommendations in a recent report on potatoes sent to the ministry.

Earlier on 18 September, the commerce ministry allowed traders to import eggs in a bid to control the prices of eggs in the local market. But, eggs are to yet be imported. Now importers are waiting for the commerce ministry’s decision on the DNCRP’s recommendations to import of potatoes.

The DNCRP in its recommendation report said permission can be granted on a limited scale to tackle the ongoing crisis. In that case, actual data on all aspects of production, storage and marketing will have to be stored. Besides, action must be taken against those who created instability at cold storage, middlemen, hoarding, wholesale and retail levels.

Other recommendations include constructing necessary infrastructures to store agro products, giving priority to farmers for storing potatoes in cold storages, introducing crop insurance for farmers, strengthening monitoring on agro products at wholesale and kitchen markets, and availing potato seeds, fertilizers, insecticides for farmers at fair prices to ensure sustainable market management.

DNCRP director general AHM Shafiquzzaman told Prothom Alo that the commerce ministry has been informed in writing to elaborate on the detailed situation of the potato market, and now the government will decide what can be done to the price of potatoes at an affordable level.

The DNCRP also made several observations based on experiences that the agency's officials had during their raids at various markets and cold storages. These observations were particularly derived from data obtained after inspecting cold storages and engaging in discussions with local administrations in four major potato-producing districts: Munsiganj, Bogura, Rangpur, and Nilphamari.

The DNCRP’s observations stated real farmers do receive agro loans. Cold storage owners enjoy this privilege in the name of the farmers, and they then lend farmers through their agents during the potato growing season. Through this system, cold storage owners forced farmers to sell potatoes as their agents used that money to purchase potatoes at low prices and store those in cold storage.

Besides, influential quarters of the sector forced farmers to sell potatoes from the land many times during the season. Agents affiliated with cold storage control the prices of potatoes indirectly, the DNCRP report said. The potato business is mostly operated through mobile phones and SMS, and no receipt was provided in most cases. The quantity is mentioned in the receipts but not the prices.

Regarding the government initiative on controlling the potato market, Bangladesh Cold Storage Association president Mostafa Azad Chowdhury told Prothom Alo the government may allow the import of potatoes to supply the staple at affordable prices, but the matter of protection to local farmers should get priority in such cases.

Importers said staples like potatoes must be imported from neighbouring countries and if the government wants to permit the import of potatoes, the decision must come soon because potato season is approaching. If the government does not decide on imports soon, it will not benefit the market.

In the meantime, retail prices of potatoes were Rs 22-24 or Tk 29-32 a kg at kitchen markets in Kolkata, the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal while retail prices were Tk 45-50 a kg at Dhaka kitchen markets despite the government set the retail price at Tk 35-36 a kg.

There is no record of importing potatoes in the recent past rather Bangladesh exported this kitchen staple to several countries, but exports dropped this year due to the crisis.

Importer Md Kamruzzaman, from Badamtali in Dhaka, told Prothom Alo, the price of potatoes is low in India, as well as in Myanmar, but import of goods is not possible from Myanmar as all banks suspended transactions with this country. So, traders will depend on India to import potatoes.

Data from the Department of Agricultural Marketing shows that 5.5 per cent of the potatoes produced in the country are sold in local markets while the remaining 94.5 per cent are sold at the district level or in different markets across the country. Farmers sell 85.3 per cent of total produced potatoes to big traders in 10 major potato-producing districts while middlemen purchase 13.7 per cent of potatoes from farmers directly and only 1 per cent of potatoes are sold through local sellers.

Prothom Alo’s Correspondent, Kolkata contributed reporting.

This report appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Hasanul Banna