Govt gives permission for importing potatoes

The government has given permission for importing potatoes in a bid to keep the price of such essential item under control.

Talking about the permission given by the Ministry of Commerce, public relations officer of the ministry M Haider Ali in a statement said that the government has decided to import potatoes considering the current market situation as well as to increase the supply of potatoes in the market and also to keep the market price of potatoes stable.

The interested importers and potato traders have been requested to apply before the Ministry of Commerce in this regard.

Earlier on September 14, the Ministry of Commerce had set the price of potatoes at Taka 36 per KG at retail level.

But, despite such step, potatoes were not being sold at the kitchen markets at the government fixed price.

Under such circumstances, the ministry took the decision today.

According to the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), per KG potatoes are being sold at Taka 55 in the kitchen markets.

Related data of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) showed that the maximum demand of potatoes in the country is 90 lakh metric tons whereas the potatoe yield reached 1.12 crore metric tons in the last fiscal year (FY23).