Potato exports on the rebound but remain far below previous peak
Potato shipments have rebounded to an extent as earnings from the sector practically doubled in the just-concluded fiscal year because of exporters' efforts to exploit the gap in the international market created by reduced supply from China and Pakistan following lower crop production as a result of coronavirus fallout.
Exports of the spud increased 29 per cent year-on-year to 45,000 tonnes in fiscal 2019-20.
In value, your kitchen staple fetched $23.30 million in export earnings in last fiscal year, that was 86 per cent a lot more than receipts for the entire year before that, showed data from Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), which issues plant health certificates for international shipments.
"We received higher prices this season as there was a supply gap from China and Pakistan. Lower potato production in Pakistan also helped us a lot," said Kazi Mahabub Morshed, owner of Kanak International.
Demand remains high in certain international markets, particularly Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka, the key destinations for Bangladeshi shipments of the tuber crop, said Morshed, also the organising secretary of the Bangladesh Potato Exporters Association (BPEA).
Bangladesh may be the sixth-largest potato producer on the globe as for the past many years farmers have produced higher amounts of the vegetable compared to the annual requirement.
In fiscal 2018-19, 96.55 lakh tonnes of potato was grown in Bangladesh against around domestic demand of almost 80 lakh tonnes.
Banking on increased production, exporters want to expand their baskets but have registered swings in shipments because of the lack of select potato varieties that are popular in the global market and an effective value chain.
Failure to adhere to the guidelines of importing countries, like Russia and Indonesia, also hinders the country's scope to improve exports of the tuber crop, which stakeholders claim could reduce vulnerability for farmers and threat of loss in case of price falls because of production gluts.
The government offers a 20 per cent cash incentive to accelerate potato exports and protect farmers from the risk of losses.
The primary season of fresh potato export starts from February after the harvest in January and continues until May, according to Morshed.
He also said the demand for potatoes from buyers abroad is high but they could not cater to them in full because of increased prices in the domestic market and issues in packaging and shipping during the shutdown imposed by the government towards the end of March in a bid to slow the spread of the rogue virus.
Morshed received a contract for 12,000 tonnes of potato. However, he could deliver only 4,000 tonnes after failing woefully to arrange enough manpower to prepare the shipment promptly amid the nationwide shutdown.
The domestic increase of potato prices afflicted exports of the spud, said Md Azahar Ali, director of Plant Quarantine Wind of the DAE.
Besides, potatoes were distributed as food aid to support poor people during the shutdown, he added.
Data from the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh showed that the favorite vegetable was sold at Tk 30-Tk 35 per kilogram in Dhaka city by yesterday, 44 % higher than what it had been a year ago.
BPEA President Shaikh Abdul Quader said demand waned in the international market as the price of potatoes was higher abroad.
"We should not be happy with last year's shipment. We are yet to return to the export degree of 2014," he said.
Exporters shipped more than 100,000 tonnes of fresh potato in fiscal 2013-14, driven by high demand in Russia, among the largest importers of the vegetable.
However, Russia slapped restrictions on the entry of Bangladesh's potato shipments due to food safety and disease risks in-may 2015.
Exports subsequently fell and also have hovered around 40,000-50,000 tonnes since fiscal 2015-16, showed the DAE data.
Quader also said that lack of exportable quality potatoes is a significant impediment to the sector.
In December this past year, the federal government removed restrictions on the introduction of new types of potato seeds for 3 years in a bid to market cultivation for exports and process different types of the tuber crop.
Farmers mainly grow several varieties of potatoes, namely diamond and granola, for household consumption aside from other varieties like asterix and lady rosetta for agro-processing.
Quader said that his firm has imported 14 varieties of potato for cultivation and that government support is required to increase exports.
Exporters also demanded the government take adequate measures so that countries such as for example Russia and Indonesia take away the restrictions located on the entry of Bangladeshi potatoes.
