Seed potato too gets pricier
With the high price of potatoes continuing to hurt household budgets across the board, farmers' pockets also bear the brunt as they have to buy seed potatoes at a higher rate.
Traders and government officials said the price of seed potatoes has increased due to the high price of potatoes, a kilogramme of which is now being sold for Tk 45-50 in the capital's kitchen markets.
Due to low prices last year, around Tk 25 per kg, many farmers had reduced the volume of cultivation of the tuber crop, a staple vegetable in kitchens. As a result, a substantial quantity of seed potatoes got damaged in cold storage, said Ruhul Amin, manager of Samabay Cold Storage in Cumilla.
"And this time when the farmers saw a good price of potatoes, they sold their seed potatoes for public consumption. Besides, many farmers are now showing interest in cultivating potatoes this year seeing good prices. So, the price shot up," he told The Daily Star on November 10.
Atiur Rahman, a farmer who has sown seed potatoes (Holland variety) on his one bigha land in Viyail union of Dinajpur's Chirirbandar upazila, said it cost him an additional Tk 4,000 this time to do so.
He used to cultivate potatoes on 2.5 bigha land. "The rest 1.5 bigha is yet to get dry after the flood. Once it becomes cultivable, I'll sow seed potatoes on that field too," he said on November 4, adding he was expecting to start cultivation by the end of this month.
Farmers of Sirajdikhan of Munshiganj, famous for potato production, usually get busy with potato cultivation in early November; this year, they are yet to begin due to waterlogging after the floods.
They are now more worried about the price than delayed cultivation.
"Getting a higher price this year, more and more farmers are eager to cultivate potatoes. But businessmen could cash in on the situation," feared Sujit Pal, a potato farmer from Ichhapura of Sirajdikhan.
Market sources said diamond seed potatoes was being sold for Tk 34-35 a kg at cold storages in Munshiganj, up from Tk 20-22 a kg last year.
The country's annual seed potato demand is around seven lakh tonnes, said Mozammel Hoque Choudhury, secretary of Bangladesh Cold Storage Association (BCSA).
There were around 10 lakh tonnes of seed potatoes in cold storages across the country. Of this, six lakh tonnes have already been released, according to sources at BCSA.
On the other hand, only around five lakh tonnes of potatoes for consumption remain in the cold storages and this stock might be finished by this month, these sources added.
So, they fear, there could be a potato crisis at the start of December as the early variety of potato is yet to hit the market because of delayed cultivation in the northern regions due to floods.
OTHER SEED STOCKS
Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) and some private organisations, including Brac Seed and Agro Enterprise and Lal Teer, also sell seeds.
The BADC has about 32,000 tonnes of seeds.
On October 20, the BADC fixed the price of grade-A potato (Asterix) seed at Tk 49 per kg for farmers and Tk 45 per kg for dealers and that of grade-A potato (Diamond/Cardinal/Granola/Lady Rosetta/BARI) seed at Tk 48 per kg for farmers and Tk 44 per kg for dealers.
However, seven days later, the BADC revised the prices reducing Tk 1 from each slab and issued a release in this regard.
The current price of each kg of seed potatoes is Tk 8-9 higher than it was in the last two years.
Brac Seed and Agro Enterprise is selling potato seeds for Tk 52-57 a kg. On the other hand, the price of imported seed potatoes (Holland variety) has also increased to Tk 104 per kg from Tk 96.
At the capital's Shyambazar, small potato seed is being sold for Tk 28-30 a kg, up from Tk 17-18 last year, said Hanif Mia, owner of New Mohanagar Arot.
He said farmers from Manikganj and Keraniganj were buying it.
Wishing anonymity, a Brac Seed and Agro Enterprise official said the crisis has already begun.
"Dealers are asking for seeds but we could not supply it to them," he said, adding they have a stock of around 20,000 tonnes of seed potatoes this year.
"The demand is at least two times higher."
Asked about the increased price, he said their price is usually Tk 5-7 higher than the BADC rate.
Zunnun Rahman, Dhaka divisional manager of Lal Teer Seed, said transportation costs shot up due to the Covid-19 pandemic, pushing up the price of imported seeds.
He said they imported only around 225 tonnes of seed potatoes (Holland variety) against an annual demand of 5,000 tonnes.
"As the price of potatoes was high, many farmers who made good profit have sold their seed potatoes which has created a crisis in the market," he said.
Contacted on November 8, BADC Chairman Sayedul Islam said since the price of potato for consumption went up, they have increased the price of seed potato.
Terming it a common practice, he said, "If the price of seed potato is kept low, then it would be sold with potatoes for consumption and there won't be much seed potatoes left for cultivation."
Replying to a query, he said once winter vegetables and the early variety of potato begin to hit the kitchen markets, excessive pressure on potato consumption will ease.
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