Potato price below production cost in Lalmonirhat
Growers worried as they would count heavy loss
Potato farmers in the district are unhappy as the vegetable is being sold at less than production cost in the local markets.
They are worried that if the price decreases any more, they will incur heavy loss, they said.
Now, one kg of potato is being sold at Tk 8 to Tk 10 per kg in the retail market and Tk 7 to Tk 8 in the wholesale market, while the growers are selling it at Tk 6 in the field against production cost of Tk 6.50.
District Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Deputy Director (DD) Bidhubhushon Roy said potato has been cultivated on 5,385 hectares of land this year, while it was 5,790 hectares last year. Due to loss in potato farming last year, some growers did not cultivate the vegetable this year, he added.
Abed Ali, 56, of Dhopara village in Sadar upazila, said he got 9,000 kg of potato from one acre of land spending Tk 60,000, but he got only Tk 54,000 from selling the produce at Tk 6 per kg in the field. “I spent additional Tk 1.50 per kg this year for spraying pesticides,” he said, adding that he spent Tk 4.00 per kg to grow potato last year.
Abdul Majid, 62, of Karnopur village in the upazila, said he spent Tk 2,40,000 for farming potato on four acres of land, but he is uncertain about recovering his investment due to the low price in the local market. “I got only Tk 55,000 from potatoes on one acre,” he said, adding that potato price may fall more at the end of this month.
Alamgir Hossain, 45, a wholesaler in the town's Goshala Bazar kitchen market, told this correspondent that they are buying potatoes from growers at low rate due to low demand of the item in the local market. “We are also stocking potatoes in the local cold storage, but we do not know what will happen next,” he said, adding that traders suffered heavy loss from stocking potatoes last year.
DD of DAE told this correspondent that farmers who work themselves in the field are benefited but those who hire labourers are facing loss. “It is true that if potato growers do not get market facility, they will lose interest in farming potato next year,” he said.