8 lakh tonnes of potato to remain unsold in Bangladesh this year: FAO

More than eight lakh tonnes of potato will remain unsold in Bangladesh this year, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said today.

Quoting the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), the FAO said more than 4.8 lakh hectares of land were brought under potato production this year.

The yield has been expected to be more than 11 million tonnes, but domestic demand for potatoes is only about 7.7 million tonnes, it said in a press release.

Of the surplus, only around a quarter can be stored for sale. Therefore, the farmers have to count losses due to unsold surplus production and post-harvest losses, it said.

In order to prevent this significant loss, the government has been encouraging potato exports. And to this end, farmers inaugurated potato export at a ceremony Pairabandh and Mithapukur upazilas in Rangpur recently, the FAO said.

The event was organised under the 'Missing Middle Initiative' project jointly initiated by FAO and Sara Bangla Krishak Society (SBKS), a national network of farmers' organisations.