Govt gives permission to import potatoes

The government has given permission for importing potatoes in a bid to keep the price of the 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 Tk 36 per kg at retail level. But, despite the step, potatoes were not being sold at the kitchen markets at the government fixed price.

Under such circumstances, the ministry took the decision to import on Monday.

According to the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), per kg potatoes are being sold at Tk 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 tonnes whereas the potato yield reached 1.12 crore tonnes in the last fiscal year (FY23).

/KN/