Consumers in 10 districts demand action against potato syndicate
The protesters also urged mobile courts to curb illegal trade practices and ensure potatoes are sold at reasonable prices
The Conscious Consumers Society (CCS) and its youth wing, Consumer Youth Bangladesh (CYB), organised human chains across 10 districts yesterday, demanding action against syndicates blamed for the abnormal hike in potato prices despite adequate stock in cold storages.
The protests were held in Munshiganj, Lakshmipur, Narayanganj, Shariatpur, Noakhali, Barguna, Khulna, Rangpur, Moulvibazar, and Kishoreganj, calling for urgent action against middlemen and undocumented traders, and stricter monitoring of cold storages.
The protesters also urged mobile courts to curb illegal trade practices and ensure potatoes are sold at reasonable prices.
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They submitted memorandums to the respective deputy commissioners, urging measures to stabilise prices.
According to the memorandums, unscrupulous traders, including cold storage owners and middlemen, have manipulated the market, creating an artificial scarcity. CCS revealed that these traders purchased potatoes at Tk18–20 per kg earlier this year, incurring cold storage costs of Tk180–340 per 60-kg sack, depending on the region. However, they are now retailing potatoes at an exorbitant Tk 70–75 per kg, exploiting consumers.
The memorandum further stated that Bangladesh's annual potato demand is around 9 million tonnes, while production this year exceeded 10 million tonnes.
Currently, over 4 million tonnes of potatoes are stored in cold storage, enough to meet the demand for the remainder of the year. Despite this surplus, stockpilers are allegedly reducing supply and manipulating prices, often selling without proper documentation or receipts.
