Staff Reporter :
Potato exports saw a good future as the country exported over Tk 250 crore of this agriculture product during the last fiscal year (2014-15).
The development came after the Agriculture Ministry made an action plan to export disease-free potato after Russia detected a diseased consignment of the product in the earlier fiscal.
The country has become third in Asia in production of potato after China and India. According to Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Bangladesh will grow potato over one crore tonnes this year. A person consumes about 23 kg per year on an average that is ten times higher compared to 1984, nit said.
On the other hand, exports of potato crossed one lakh tonne for the first time in fiscal 2013-14, rising threefold from only 28,416 tonnes in 2012-13, shows the DAE data.
Earnings also trebled to Tk 233 crore in 2013-14 compared to the previous year, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data shows.
“This is a milestone. We want to perform better in the days to come. We are trying to consolidate in Russia, which is a big market for potato,” said Shaikh Abdul Quader, president of Bangladesh Potato Exporters Association, which recorded the total exports at 116,000 tonnes in the last fiscal year.
Of the quantity, nearly 20,000 tonnes were exported to Russia, where Bangladeshi exporters enjoyed wider market opportunities due to a ban on Pakistani potatoes over pest risks.
Exports to other traditional markets such as Malaysia, the Middle East and Sri Lanka also rose owing to a slow supply from Pakistan and India where unfavourable weather took a toll on production.
The surge in exports came on the back of low prices in the domestic market during January-February, when prices fell below the production cost of around Tk 6 a kilogram.
An increased demand for exports and a build-up of stocks later caused the prices to swell, helping many of the country’s seven lakh farmers narrow down losses they had suffered earlier due to a supply glut.
Frustrated by sliding prices, farmers in many northern districts had staged protests and dumped their produce on highways during the harvesting season, prompting the government to explore opportunities for export. Currently exporters get 20 percent cash incentives.
“Low prices in the domestic market were one of the main factors behind the rising exports. The government initiatives to create wider market opportunities have also helped,” said Md Ahsan Ullah, quarantine entomologist at the DAE’s plant protection wing.
However, retaining the markets, especially Russia, depends largely on ensuring consistent quality and export of disease-free vegetables.
In May, Russia denied entry of a potato shipment from Bangladesh after detecting brown rot disease, according to Fresh Plaza, an online portal on global fresh produce.
“At the moment, we are working to eliminate the disease. We have taken steps to ensure smooth exports to Russia,” said Quader of the exporters’ association.
Potato production rose to 89 lakh tonnes in fiscal 2013-14 from 86.03 lakh tonnes a year ago, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics data shows.
Of the total production, 10 lakh tonnes are used as seed and 60-65 lakh tonnes consumed, according to Bangladesh Cold Storage Association.
Potato exports have started rising since fiscal 2009-10, mainly to cater to the demands from Bangladeshi migrants in Malaysia, Singapore and the Middle East.
Potato exports saw a good future as the country exported over Tk 250 crore of this agriculture product during the last fiscal year (2014-15).
The development came after the Agriculture Ministry made an action plan to export disease-free potato after Russia detected a diseased consignment of the product in the earlier fiscal.
The country has become third in Asia in production of potato after China and India. According to Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Bangladesh will grow potato over one crore tonnes this year. A person consumes about 23 kg per year on an average that is ten times higher compared to 1984, nit said.
On the other hand, exports of potato crossed one lakh tonne for the first time in fiscal 2013-14, rising threefold from only 28,416 tonnes in 2012-13, shows the DAE data.
Earnings also trebled to Tk 233 crore in 2013-14 compared to the previous year, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data shows.
“This is a milestone. We want to perform better in the days to come. We are trying to consolidate in Russia, which is a big market for potato,” said Shaikh Abdul Quader, president of Bangladesh Potato Exporters Association, which recorded the total exports at 116,000 tonnes in the last fiscal year.
Of the quantity, nearly 20,000 tonnes were exported to Russia, where Bangladeshi exporters enjoyed wider market opportunities due to a ban on Pakistani potatoes over pest risks.
Exports to other traditional markets such as Malaysia, the Middle East and Sri Lanka also rose owing to a slow supply from Pakistan and India where unfavourable weather took a toll on production.
The surge in exports came on the back of low prices in the domestic market during January-February, when prices fell below the production cost of around Tk 6 a kilogram.
An increased demand for exports and a build-up of stocks later caused the prices to swell, helping many of the country’s seven lakh farmers narrow down losses they had suffered earlier due to a supply glut.
Frustrated by sliding prices, farmers in many northern districts had staged protests and dumped their produce on highways during the harvesting season, prompting the government to explore opportunities for export. Currently exporters get 20 percent cash incentives.
“Low prices in the domestic market were one of the main factors behind the rising exports. The government initiatives to create wider market opportunities have also helped,” said Md Ahsan Ullah, quarantine entomologist at the DAE’s plant protection wing.
However, retaining the markets, especially Russia, depends largely on ensuring consistent quality and export of disease-free vegetables.
In May, Russia denied entry of a potato shipment from Bangladesh after detecting brown rot disease, according to Fresh Plaza, an online portal on global fresh produce.
“At the moment, we are working to eliminate the disease. We have taken steps to ensure smooth exports to Russia,” said Quader of the exporters’ association.
Potato production rose to 89 lakh tonnes in fiscal 2013-14 from 86.03 lakh tonnes a year ago, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics data shows.
Of the total production, 10 lakh tonnes are used as seed and 60-65 lakh tonnes consumed, according to Bangladesh Cold Storage Association.
Potato exports have started rising since fiscal 2009-10, mainly to cater to the demands from Bangladeshi migrants in Malaysia, Singapore and the Middle East.
