Bangladesh: Consumers pay 150% higher than potato production cost

Fresh Common Potato

Vegetables

Bangladesh

Market & Price Trends

Published Feb 17, 2024

Tridge summary

Potato prices in Bangladesh have surged by 50% compared to the previous year, with farmers only receiving a small fraction of the profit. Despite the government allowing imports to combat the high prices, the first shipment from India on February 3 has not alleviated the issue due to a persistent potato shortage. The cost of potato production this season averages at Tk 15.95 per kg, while the selling price at the farmer level ranges between Tk 19-22 per kg.

Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by a state-of-the-art LLM model and is intended for informational purposes only. It is recommended that readers refer to the original article for more context.

Original content

On average, the farmers get Tk 4 out of Tk 24 profit per kg and the rest of profits go to middlemen's pockets, which is four times higher than that of the farmers. According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) data, the prices of potatoes increased by 50 per cent compared to last year. Visiting various kitchen markets in Dhaka, local new potatoes and imported white potatoes are being sold at Tk 35-40 per kg, which was Tk 45-50 per kg a week ago. According to Department of Agriculture and Marketing (DAM), potatoes were sold at Tk 30-40 per kg in the kitchen markets of the capital on Thursday, which was Tk 38-45 per kg a week ago. On September 14 last year, the Ministry of Agriculture fixed the maximum retail price of potatoes at Tk 36 per kg. According to Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) under the Ministry of Agriculture, the average cost of production of potatoes in the current season is Tk 15.95 per kg. Potatoes are arriving in the market from different ...

Source: Argenpapa