Our correspondent :
A view exchange meeting on potato was held at the RCCI Auditorium of Rangpur Chamber Building organised by Rangpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Rangpur Chamber President Mostafa Sohrab Chowdhury Titu presided over the function as the chief guest on Friday afternoon. Besides, the founder of TMSS and President of Bogra District Cold Storage Owners Association Prof Dr was present as a special guest in the exchange meeting.
He expressed various suggestions and opinions on what should be done during the conservation season. The owners of the cold storages said that 50 per cent of the 60 cold storages in Rangpur division have 50 per cent unsold potatoes as everything was closed during the pandemic time. But even though the situation in Corona has improved, many farmers and traders are not picking potatoes from the cold storage as the market price is lower than the cost. As a result, shed-filled potatoes are lying in the cold storage of Rangpur division. Therefore, the cold storage owners of Rangpur division fear a loss of about one thousand crore rupees if the stored potatoes are not marketed within two months. Therefore, the owners of cold storages in Rangpur Division urged the government to take immediate action in this regard.
If the stored potatoes are not marketed, a huge amount will remain unsold. There will be no way out except to throw them away. He called on the government to compensate the cold storage owners. He said farmers and traders are now reluctant to take out potatoes from the cold storage as the market price is lower than the cost of production. He said that in the last 10 years, the owners of cold storages have been trying to sit on the road with losses for six years. He therefore called upon the cold storage owners to unite and gain acceptance from the government. Finally he called for the formation of organizations to organize cold storage owners in each district.
Hosne Ara Begum, Vice President of Bangladesh Cold Storage Association and Managing Director of Ijab Group Md Istiaq Ahmed, Managing Director of Yunus Group Mohammad Yunus, Former President of Rangpur Chamber and former Director of FBCCI Bir Muktijoddha Md Moshaddek Hossain Bablu, Chairman of Razzak Group and Razzak Group Chairman Habibul Islam Bablu also attended the meeting.
