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In consultation with the stakeholders, the government on Tuesday put forward seven recommendations to ensure a smooth year-round supply of potatoes.
The proposals came at a meeting organised by the Directorate of National Consumers' Rights Protection (DNCRP) at its office.
The consultation meeting has brought together the Bangladesh Cold Storage Association, district administrators of ten major potato-producing districts, and representatives from the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM), Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), and the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB).
The meeting focused on enhancing coordination and transparency in the country's potato production, storage, and supply chain systems to prevent market volatility and post-harvest losses.
The stakeholders also put high emphasis on releasing data on time for maintaining a rational market trend.
A major decision was made to send a formal letter through the commerce ministry, requesting the agriculture ministry to precisely assess national potato demand and regularly share production data with all stakeholders. This step aims to enable data-driven planning and timely interventions in the potato market.
Participants unanimously agreed on the need to match potato production and supply with domestic demand.
In cases of overproduction, authorities and stakeholders must take proactive measures to facilitate exports or increase processing capacity to stabilise prices and reduce wastage.
In line with the existing policy, the BCSA was instructed to strictly allocate storage space -- 25 per cent for seed potatoes and 75 per cent for table potatoes to ensure smooth supply in the off season.
To further enhance traceability, it was also decided that all bags containing seed potatoes must be clearly marked with green ink as per existing regulation.
District administrators from Dhaka, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Cumilla, Rajshahi, Bogura, Joypurhat, Rangpur, and Dinajpur were tasked with ensuring that cold storages operating in their jurisdictions but not yet members of the Cold Storage Association immediately register.
Reports of compliance are to be submitted within the next 15 days.
A district-wise stakeholder meeting will be convened to discuss local production and storage capacities.
Each district must submit its recommendations within 15 days for consolidation and submission to the government as part of a unified strategy.
Meanwhile, the Cold Storage Association received approval to renew its gas cylinder licences, originally issued in 2007, resolving a long-standing operational bottleneck.
To modernise data management, DAM, in collaboration with the BCSA, will develop a central software system within a month.
The system is expected to streamline real-time data sharing and improve coordination among producers, storages, and policymakers.However, potato production has made a record this year as the government is expecting above 11 million tonnes.
Retail price of potato is three-year low this year at Tk 15-25 a kg across the country, according to the DAM.
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