This time, the price of potatoes has reached half a century. Potatoes increased by five takas per kg and reached 50. Traders say, not farmers, that the stock of potatoes is now in the hands of millionaires. So the price of potatoes is increasing at their behest.
According to the information of the Department of Agriculture Extension, in the last fiscal year 2022–23, the production of potatoes in the country was one crore, four lakh tons. Which is much more than the annual demand.
According to the department, potatoes are second only to rice in the list of daily food products. Potato production has increased 27 times in the last four years. At the same time, the consumption of potatoes in the country has also increased by 10 times.
According to them, the people of Bangladesh consume an average of 23 kg of potatoes per year. Accordingly, the annual demand for potatoes is 39 lakh 5 thousand 400 tons. Some potatoes are used in the production of products such as potato chips. Few potatoes are now exported abroad.
According to the information of the Department of Agriculture Extension, in the last financial year 2022-23, 1 crore 4 lakh 31 thousand 700 tons of potatoes were cultivated on 4 lakh 55 thousand hectares of land. As a result, Bangladesh has risen from seventh to sixth in the world in potato production.
However, even though there is no shortage in the surplus production and supply of potatoes in the country, the price has started to increase in the market. In the last two days, wholesale prices of potatoes have increased by two rupees per kg. The retail price has increased by 5 taka and is being sold at 50 taka per kg. Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) data says that the price of potatoes has increased by 61.11 percent in the last year.