Cold storage owners want govt aid for disaster-hit potato growers

The Bangladesh Cold Storage Association (BCSA) has urged the government to include potato farmers affected by recent storms and rainfall in an agricultural rehabilitation programme.

In a letter sent to the Ministry of Agriculture on March 25, it said early storms and heavy rainfall in the first half of March severely impacted major potato-producing districts, including Rangpur, Rajshahi, Bogura, Joypurhat, Naogaon, Thakurgaon, Gaibandha, Nilphamari, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Dinajpur and Panchagarh.

Waterlogging during the harvesting period caused extensive damage to potatoes left in the fields, as well as to crops that had not yet been harvested.

As a result, the affected potatoes have become unsuitable for storage in cold storage facilities.

The association estimates that around 45,000 hectares of potato farmland have been damaged across these districts, with total losses amounting to approximately Tk 675 crore.

Farmers who managed to harvest their potatoes are facing further losses, as poor quality has made the produce unsuitable for storage, forcing them to sell at significantly reduced prices of Tk 5-6 per kilogramme (kg), well below prevailing market rates.

With production costs averaging around Tk 16 per kg, farmers are being compelled to sell at less than half their cost of production, the letter said.

The letter also pointed out that in 2025, potato production reached 1.12 crore tonnes, exceeding demand by about 22 lakh tonnes.

As a result, farmers were forced to sell at Tk 8-12 per kg, far below the production cost, leading to substantial financial losses.