With national elections scheduled for January 7, 2024, the Bangladesh government has implemented measures to address the alarming surge in potato prices.

Bangladesh Commerce Ministry, in a report, says high prices are the result of price manipulation by a syndicate of cold-storage owners.

The first-ever shipments of 77 tonnes of potatoes have arrived from India for domestic consumption in Bangladesh - traditionally an exporter of the root vegetable - amid government efforts to ease the price.

Potato prices in Bangladesh are soaring even though farmers this year grew a record 1.04 crore tonnes, cutting the buying power of consumers, especially fixed and low-income people already battered by sustained high inflation.

Frequent power outages in Bangladesh are driving up the costs of potato storage, ultimately burdening people already struggling with escalating prices of essential food items.

A Japanese company has expressed interest to import potatoes from Bangladesh, said Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque. The minister said this while addressing a program at Westin Hotel in Tokyo on Thursday (April 27).

State-run Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation and private entity National Group Russia for Potato Export are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding today over the export of potato from Bangladesh to Russia.

Potato exports from Bangladeshi farmers supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) continue to grow, as producers came together recently to celebrate another year of success.

Two potato varieties developed by the private firm ACI Seed are set to hit the seed potato market of Bangladesh next season, enabling farmers to produce industrial-grade potatoes that can be used for making ready-to-eat snacks

The annual demand for potatoes in Bangladesh is about 9 million tons. The Bangladesh Cold Storage Association (BCSA) urged the government to provide a BDT 9 (USD 0.11) subsidy per kilogram of potato stored in various cold storages in the country.