Staff Correspondent:

Potato exports climbed to a three-year high in the recently concluded fiscal year (FY) 2024-25, as traders took advantage of a slump in domestic prices to increase shipments abroad.

A total of 62,135 tonnes of potatoes were exported during the year, the highest since FY22, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).

Exporters said they were able to procure potatoes last season at prices ranging from Tk 7 to Tk 20 per kilogramme, well below the Tk 30 per kg they paid in the previous year.

At the field level, many farmers were forced to sell their produce for as little as Tk 11 per kg, far lower than the DAE’s estimated average production cost of Tk 14.

In some northern regions, where cultivation costs run higher, production expenses reached up to Tk 20 per kg.

Potato seeds are usually sown during the October–November period, with harvesting taking place from February to April.

In FY25, the starchy vegetable was cultivated on a record 5.24 lakh hectares of land, up 15 percent from the previous year. Many farmers expanded cultivation after prices spiked to Tk 80 per kg last November.

Although the government has yet to release official production data for the season, the Bangladesh Cold Storage Association, a major player in the local supply chain, expects the total output to reach 1.20 crore tonnes.

Potato exports from Bangladesh began in 1999, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), although the volume was initially very small.

At present, Bangladesh exports potatoes to countries such as Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bahrain.

Tawhidul Islam, a leading exporter, said the surge in exports last year was largely driven by low domestic prices.

Islam shipped 30,000 tonnes in FY25, a sharp rise from 1,400 tonnes the year before.

“Last season, I was able to buy potatoes for Tk 7 to Tk 10 per kg, whereas the price was Tk 30 per kg in FY24,” he said.

Other exporters, including Nazim Uddin and Rashed Shamim, also reported higher shipments last fiscal year due to cheaper procurement rates. The varieties they exported included Granola, Diamond-7, and Majestic.

In a separate note, Shamim said that the lack of proper infrastructure continued to hold back export growth.

“In Bangladesh, the necessary infrastructure for potato exports has not yet developed properly, which is why exports are not increasing at the expected rate,” he said.

He added that issues in packaging and hygiene standards were preventing Bangladesh from accessing markets in Cambodia, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.

To support the export of the popular vegetable, the DAE has urged farmers to grow export-oriented varieties such as Granola, Santana, and Kumari.

Syed Md Rafiqul Amin, managing director of the Hortex Export Development Foundation under the agriculture ministry, said the growth in exports would provide some relief to farmers, many of whom had been incurring huge losses.

Amin said efforts were underway to connect farmers directly with exporters.

“Traders were able to purchase potatoes at lower prices last fiscal year due to better yields, which have contributed to the increase in exports,” he added.

Since FY16, Bangladesh has exported around 50,000 tonnes of potatoes annually on average, according to the DAE.

While potatoes are shipped year-round, businesspeople say around 60 percent of total exports usually take place during the harvesting season.