Bangladesh: Annual demand for potatoes in Bangladesh is about 9 million tons

The Bangladesh Cold Storage Association (BCSA) urged the government to provide a Tk9 (€0.09) subsidy per kilogram of potato stored in various cold storages in the country.

During a press briefing on Saturday, it sought immediate aid to save millions of rural farmers due to the situation led by the Covid-19 pandemic. Citing the bumper yield of potato in recent times, it further asked to halt the electricity bills of the cold storages for the months of September and October and instalment facilities to pay the rest of the amount.

BCSA President Md Mosharaf Hossain said that over 11 million tons of potatoes are being produced due to the cultivation in more lands in the current year. About 4 million tons of potatoes were stored in 400 cold storages in March and April.

The annual demand for potatoes in Bangladesh is about 9 million tons. As such, there is a possibility of having a surplus of about 1.5 million tons of potatoes.