TCB to sell potato amid price hike

State-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will sell potato at Tk 25 a kg under its open market sales programme to tame the soaring price of the widely-consumed vegetable in the local market.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi disclosed this after a meeting with cold storage owners and traders of potato at the retail and wholesale level at his secretariat office in Dhaka, according to a press release from the ministry.

The ministry did not say since when the TCB would begin retailing potato through its trucks.

The move came as potato is being sold for Tk 55 to Tk 60 per kg across the country, up from Tk 35 and Tk 40 a few days ago.

At the meeting, the minister said there was no crisis of potato. There is an adequate supply of the item in the market to meet the demand of the consumers.

"The prices of potato have gone up because of the damages faced by other crops and vegetables during recent floods and excessive rains in many districts," the ministry said.

The Department of Agricultural Extension has already fixed the prices of potato at Tk 23 a kg at the cold storage level, Tk 25 at the wholesale level and Tk 30 at the retail level, the statement said.

However, the businessmen are not following the government-fixed prices and are charging higher prices.