Staff Reporter :
After failing to control market, the government has re-fixed the potato price at Tk 35 kg per kg for retail market. With this, the government was compelled to increase Tk 5 per kg to convince the traders.
The Department of Agricultural Marketing has directed retail traders to sale per kg potato at Tk 35 from Wednesday.
Earlier, the government had fixed potato prices at Tk 30 for retail markets but failed to control the market.
Meanwhile, the retailers were selling the item at Tk 50 to Tk 60 in different kitchen markets yesterday ignoring government’s fixed price. In these circumstances, Department of Agricultural again stipulated prices of the potato in three stages.
“We have re-fixed prices of potatoes in three stages. It will be sold at Tk 30 per kg at whole sale markets, at Tk 27 in cold storages and per kg at Tk 35 in retail markets. If any one breach this, he must face legal actions,” said Mohammad Yousuf, Director General of Department of Agricultural on Tuesday in his office in Khamarbari in the capital after a meeting with businessmen.
He asked all Deputy Commissioners to monitor potato prices in cold storages, whole sale and retail markets closely.
As like other items in kitchen markets, potatoes have started becoming an expensive vegetable, hiking by Tk10 to 20 and sold in retails for Tk50 to Tk 60 per kg for last several weeks.
Earlier on the day, Agriculture Minister Dr. Abdur Razzak told journalists that the government was set to re-fix potato price as the businessmen cannot sale it at Tk 30 per kg.
He sought apology saying the government thought that the farmers may be benefited in slight price hiking but the prices went so high.
Earler, the DG of Agricultural Marketing said that there were surplus potatoes in the country in the current year. He said, Bangladesh produced 1.09 crore tons potatoes against the maximum demands of 77 lakh tons, according to the data, there is surplus production of over 30 lakh tons. So, there was no valid reason for the rise in prices.
But the Agriculture Minister said on Tuesday that due to floods most of the people are consuming potato’s for long days and eventually the supply fallen into shortages.
The Minister said that the government is trying to import potato from Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Myanmar and Pakistan soon.
When contacted, Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) President Golam Rahman said average income of the people have been decreased due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
In these circumstances, government should control prices of every commodity so that people can afford it, he added.
