The Bangladesh Cold Storage Association (BCSA) on Saturday urged the government to grant a 20 per cent rebate on electricity bills and increase the cash incentive for potato exports to 30 per cent from the existing 10 per cent to help the sector weather a severe crisis driven by falling potato prices.
Additionally, BCSA advocated for maintaining the current cold storage rate of Tk 6.75 per kg, noting that higher fees would inflict further financial hardship on already struggling farmers.
The demands were placed at a press briefing held at the association's office in the city.
The programme was chaired by BCSA President Mostafa Azad Babu, who read out a written statement.
The association alleged that the commercial electricity tariff for cold storage facilities was increased by 18 per cent from June 1, 2026.
At the same time, wages of workers, salaries of employees, and the costs of ammonia gas, lubricants, spare parts and maintenance have also risen significantly. However, storage charges have not been adjusted in line with the higher operating costs.
The BCSA urged the government to declare cold storage as an agro-based industry and allocate Tk 60-80 billion from the national budget to Bangladesh Bank for establishing a refinancing or business support fund for the sector.
Under the proposal, Bangladesh Bank would channel the funds through scheduled banks, enabling cold storage operators to obtain loans at an interest rate of 4.0-5.0 per cent to meet installation and operational expenses.
Mr Babu said the existing 10 per cent export incentive is inadequate and should be increased to 30 per cent to encourage potato exports and reduce the domestic oversupply.
The association also urged the government to convert quarterly loan repayments into annual installments to match the seasonal nature of the business.
It welcomed the government's initiative to introduce Farmers Card, but requested the authorities to specifically include potato growers in the programme so that they can receive government support for storing potatoes in cold storage facilities.
According to the association, more than 0.2 million tonnes of potatoes remained unclaimed in cold storages in January this year as owners did not withdraw their produce due to extremely low market prices.
As a result, both the value of the potatoes and the storage charges have effectively turned into losses for cold storage operators, it said.
The BCSA also called for the inclusion of potatoes in the government's Open Market Sale (OMS) and rationing programmes to boost domestic consumption and facilitate potato marketing.
Salman Wahab Reza, director of the association, Fazlur Rahman, director, Ishtiaque Ahmed, senior vice-president, and Susanta Pramanik, chief executive officer, were also present at the briefing.
Bangladesh produced more than 11.2 million tonnes of potatoes in 2025, while production is expected to increase to around 11.5 million tonnes this year.
Farm-gate potato prices fell to a record low of Tk 5.0-9.0 per kg this season, while prices at cold storage gates ranged between Tk 12 and Tk 18 per kg.
At the retail level, potatoes were sold at Tk 18-35 per kg so far this year, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.
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