Potato farmers in the district of Lalmonirhat Sadar district are worried as they cannot recover the production cost due to low price of the vegetable. Many growers expressed their anxiety about meeting the expenditure for cultivating upcoming crops like Boro.
Now one kg of potato is being sold at Tk 8 to Tk 12 (€0.09-0.13) in the retail market and Tk 7 to Tk 10 (€0.08-0.11) in the wholesale market, while the growers are selling it at Tk 6 in the field against production cost of Tk 7.
Bidhubhushon Roy, deputy director of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Lalmonirhat, said 5,000 hectares of land have been brought under potato cultivation this year while it was 5,385 hectares last year. Due to loss in potato farming last year, a number of farmers did not cultivate the vegetable this year, he said.
Farmers who worked in their own fields are benefited but those who hired labourers are facing loss, Bidhubhushon said, adding that it is true that if growers do not get their production cost back, they will lose interest in farming potato next year.
Farmer Matilal Barmon of Haziganj village in Aditmari district: “I thought I would get expected price from selling potatoes this year, but it is same price what was in the last year.” He incurred loss of Tk 25,000 (€265) from potato cultivation last year.
Thedailystar.net also reported on Mizanur Rahman, a wholesaler in the town's Goshala Bazar kitchen market, said they are buying potatoes from growers at low rate due to huge supply of the item in the local market.
