By: Navalsang Parmar (Dhaka)
Aiming to check very high prices of potatoes, the Bangladesh government has approved the import of 34,000 tonnes of potatoes from India. A total of 25 tonnes of potato arrived in Bangladesh through Dinajpur’s Hili land port from India on Saturday afternoon. As a result, the price of potatoes came down to Taka 25-30 per kg at retail markets from Taka 40-45 in the country.
Land port officials told the local media persons that the government has decided to import potatoes from India to rein in the soaring price of the vegetable ahead of Ramadan. A total of 49 traders will be able to start importing the potatoes from Saturday or Sunday, he added.
A local wholesale trader said that the price of potato went out of control due to shortage of the supply in Bangladesh’s market last year. On October 30, the Bangladesh government allowed import of potatoes from India to maintain supply and to keep the situation normal. Since then, the price of imported potatoes has come down in the market. Following the market stability, Bangladesh again stopped importing potatoes through Hili land port from December 15.