Bangladesh’ Agriculture Ministry has started issuing permits to importers, hoping to bring potato prices under control. Until now, the Department of Agricultural Extension gave clearance to import 19,400 tons of potatoes against 28 applications, said Md Kamrul Islam Buyan, senior information officer of the agriculture ministry.
According to asianews.network, the DAE began to issue permits for the import of the root vegetable a day after the commerce ministry decided to allow imports in an effort to contain prices that went up to Tk 65 per kg at retail, the highest on record, in Dhaka. Government agencies estimated the production of potatoes at 10 mln tons in the last harvesting season, higher than the previous one. The estimated annual consumption requirement is around 8 mln tons.
The relentless surge in potato prices in Bangladesh has shifted from being a cause for concern to setting unprecedented records. Potatoes are currently fetching prices ranging from Tk 65 to Tk 70 per kilogram in Dhaka's retail market. Despite various attempts to control this price surge, the government has resorted to importing potatoes. This deregulation of the potato market has persisted for the past two months.
The decision to import potatoes has raised questions, especially since the Ministry of Agriculture ceased potato exports, citing a surplus in production compared to domestic demand. This leaves us pondering why the prices of this agricultural product have reached historic highs in the local market.
Source: en.prothomalo.com