Potato glut leaves Joypurhat farmers, traders counting losses

Potato farmers and traders in Kalai upazila of Joypurhat are facing losses as prices have continued to fall despite keeping their produce in cold storage for months in hopes of getting better returns.

A 60kg sack of potatoes is currently selling for Tk920-960 at cold storage gates, against a production and post-harvest cost of around Tk1,400 per sack. This means farmers are losing an average of Tk460 per sack, including production, transportation, sorting and cold storage costs.

According to the District Agricultural Extension Department, only 22% of the potatoes stored in cold storages had been released by the second week of August, while 78% still remained in storages. During the same period last year, around 45% had been released.

Joypurhat produced around 930,000 tonnes of potatoes on 39,330 hectares of land this year. Of the total output, around 215,982 tonnes were stored in 22 cold storages across the district.

Belal Hossain, a farmer from Pur village in Kalai, said he spent Tk10.8 lakh, including storage costs, to preserve 800 sacks of potatoes. After four months, he sold them for Tk7.84 lakh, incurring a loss of Tk2.96 lakh.

Farmers Lokman Hossain of Madarpur, Mazharul Islam of Badauch and others also reported losses of around Tk460 per sack. 

They urged the authorities to increase potato exports to reduce the pressure on the domestic market.

Farmers usually sell their stored potatoes during the Aman season to meet expenses for land preparation, seedlings, fertiliser and labour. This year, however, low prices have left much of their working capital tied up in unsold potatoes.

Traders Mithu Fakir and Saidur Rahman said they were losing Tk4,000-5,000 per truck and Tk50-55 per sack while transporting potatoes to different destinations.

Mahbub, a trader from Bairagihat, said the falling market had made it difficult for traders to repay loans taken against their potato business.

Md Sujaul Islam, owner of potato exporter Suhi Enterprise in Kalai, said his company had been exporting potatoes to different countries for nine years, but foreign demand was low this year. “If exports are increased, pressure on the domestic market will decrease,” he said.

Punat Cold Storage Manager Biplob Kumar Ghosh said around 50,000 of more than 250,000 sacks stored at the facility had been unloaded. 

Manager Raihan Uddin of Sarail’s M Israt Cold Storage and Ayub Ali of Salamin Cold Storage said around 80,000 of their 320,000 sacks had been unloaded. They expressed concern about releasing the remaining potatoes within the stipulated period.

Deputy Director of the District Agricultural Extension Department AKM Sadiqul Islam said potato prices had fallen mainly because production exceeded demand.

“The Agriculture Department is working with the relevant authorities to keep the market functional and ensure farmers receive fair prices,” he said.