Potato farmers and traders in Rajshahi are facing a severe financial crisis as prices of cold-stored potatoes have plummeted to record lows due to overproduction.
The market glut has driven prices down so sharply that neither farmers nor traders can recover even their production costs, leading to widespread frustration and despair across the region.
At present, wholesale potato prices in Rajshahi have fallen to Tk10–11 per kilogram, compared to Tk45–55 during the same period last year. In local retail markets, potatoes are selling for Tk20–25 a kilo, Tk7–10 less than last month. The steep decline has left producers unable to recoup even a fraction of their investment.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension in Rajshahi, the district produced 1.03 million tons of potatoes on 38,500 hectares of land this year. This output is nearly nine times higher than the district’s annual demand of 113,145 metric tons. Compared to last year, an additional 3,545 hectares were brought under potato cultivation, resulting in 91,693 tons of surplus production — a key factor behind the current price collapse.
The Department of Agricultural Marketing reports that Rajshahi has 39 cold storages, of which 37 are operational, with a combined capacity of 433,250 tons. This year, 434,491 tons of potatoes were stored — including 360,732 tons of table potatoes and 73,759 tons of seed potatoes. Currently, about 205,186 tons remain in storage. However, due to low market prices, many farmers cannot afford to retrieve their potatoes, as transport and labour costs exceed potential returns.
Farmer Mozammel Haque Tutul from Tanore upazila exemplifies the crisis. He cultivated potatoes on 164 bighas of land, producing 9,348 sacks at a total cost of Tk1.55 crore. Hoping the government would buy potatoes at the promised rate, he withheld 2,000 sacks from sale. “The government promised to buy, but not a single sack was taken,” he said. “Now I am drowning in losses and cannot afford to take my potatoes out of cold storage.”
In August, the government announced plans to purchase 50,000 tons of potatoes from cold storage at a minimum price of Tk22 per kilo. Farmers and traders now allege that the promise has yet to be fulfilled. “We spent far more producing these potatoes than what we are now being forced to sell them for,” said Mithu Haji, General Secretary of the Rajshahi District Potato Growers and Traders Cooperative. “The government made assurances, but nothing has happened. We are left helpless.”
According to Cooperative President Ahad Ali, there are three main reasons behind the price crash: overproduction, spoilage in cold storage, and low market demand. He noted that the production, storage, and transport costs amount to about Tk35 per kilogram, yet potatoes are selling for only Tk10–11, resulting in losses of Tk22–25 per kilogram.
Shahana Akhter Jahan, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Marketing for Rajshahi Division, explained that farmers expanded potato cultivation after last year’s high prices, causing a production boom that exceeded both local and national demand. “Almost every district has seen an increase in potato output this year,” she said. “As a result, the total supply across the country far exceeds consumption, leading to the dramatic fall in prices.”
Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension, Mohammad Nasir Uddin, confirmed that Rajshahi’s annual demand is just over 113,000 tons, whereas this year’s production exceeded one million tons. “Naturally, when production surpasses demand by such a margin,” he said, “a sharp decline in market prices is inevitable.”
