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Islam is yet to clear potatoes from what he holds as he would only get Tk 7.5 per kilogramme at the current market price, which is 23 per cent less than the production cost of Tk 9.7 per kilogramme, as estimated by the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM).

Now, he wants to wait until September to see if prices go up.

“Otherwise what can I do? Increased exports could help us but there is no demand,” he said.

Potato shipment increased 2 per cent year-on-year to 55,840 tonnes in fiscal 2020-21 from 54,800 tonnes the previous year, reads data from Plant Quarantine Wing of the DAE.

Kazi Mahabub Morshed, organising secretary of Bangladesh Potato Exporters Association (BPEA), said his firm got $3.5 million-worth of contracts to export 15,000 tonnes of potato to Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia.

“We could export nearly 7,000 tonnes,” he said, adding that absence of adequate varieties suitable for export was a main reason for the low quantity of shipments.

“Farmers were least interested to sell potato during harvesting period,” said Md Zakir Hossain, secretary general of Bangladesh Potato Exporters Association.

Mohammad Monir Hawlader, a farmer of Tongibari in Munshiganj, one of the country’s main potato producing districts, said prices of the tuber were higher during the harvesting season. Later, prices declined.

Howlader feared incurring losses of Tk 4 lakh this year.

Farmers and traders registered prices in July particularly before the Eid-ul-Azha. Prices began to decline after the government enforced a lockdown since July 23 to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

Yesterday, potato prices were Tk 20-Tk 25 per kilogramme in Dhaka city markets, down four per cent from that a month ago, data by the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh showed.

Zuhurul Islam, a farmer at Joypurhat, said prices might drop faster once farmers and traders begin to release increased quantity of potato from storages. “Prices are not falling as most of the people are not selling. Market will fall when there will be abundant supply,” he said.

BCSA President Hossain said closure of restaurants for lockdown was responsible for the decline in demand for potato. “Besides, it is not being distributed as relief this year as we saw the previous year,” he said “Problems will be solved to some extent if the lockdown is not continued,” he said.