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 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.

Cold storage operators in Bangladesh said between 15 and 20 lakh (2 million) tonnes of potato will remain unsold by the end of the year because of sluggish demand.

In the last fiscal year (FY'16), Bangladesh's potato production hit an all-time-high of 9.47 million tonnes, the latest data showed. However cold storage facilities showed little progress compared to the higher output.

Thousands of farmers in Bogra, Bangladesh are compelled to sell produced potato in the local markets at low price due to a lack of storage facilities.

In Bangladesh, hoarders and wholesalers have started lifting huge quantities of potatoes from cold storages in the district Dinajpur as prices of the vegetable are rising fast in the local markets.

Institute of Informatics and Development (IID) organized two dissemination workshops titled “Increasing efficiency and inclusiveness in Agriculture: Findings of the Jute and Potato supply chain study”.

Prices of potato have nearly doubled over the last year, despite having sufficient supply in the market and adequate stock in the country.

A surge in potato prices has come as a sigh of relief to many farmers who incurred losses as massive production in the past two years has driven down prices. Prices of potato climbed 41 percent to Tk 18-Tk 20 a kilogram in the city yesterday from Tk 1...