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AyRojgar

Potato farming

Planted in winter, lifted in February-March. National average wholesale in August 2026 was Tk 29.80/kg for local potato and Tk 20.53-20.71 for Holland varieties, but at harvest the field price fell to Tk 3-7; cold storage rent is now Tk 6 a kg.

  • Last reviewed: 21 September 2026
  • Version 1
Potato farming

Potato farming

Starting capital
৳30,000 – ৳3,00,000
Editorial estimate
Manpower
2 – 10 people
First sale
90 – 120 days
Editorial estimate
Break-even
4 – 24 months
Editorial estimate
Kind of work
Farm · Hard

About the business

Seed potato goes in around November and comes out in February-March. Profit and loss in this trade are settled not in the field but at the cold storage gate. Almost all of Bangladesh's commercial cold storage capacity is taken up by potato, and a grower picks one of three paths: sell to a trader straight off the field, keep it at home for two or three months, or put bags into a cold store. In February-March 2026, after a record harvest, the field price in Thakurgaon fell to Tk 3-7 a kg, against the Department of Agricultural Marketing's own production cost of Tk 14 a kg, and up to Tk 20 in the north. A government floor of Tk 22 at the cold storage gate was announced and never enforced. For those who stored, the arithmetic ran like this in Fulbari, Dinajpur: a 62 kg bag cost Tk 600 to buy, Tk 60 to transport, Tk 450 in storage rent and Tk 125 for the sack, Tk 1,185 in all, and in August that potato was selling at Tk 12-13.50 a kg. The fight over rent happens every year: the Cold Storage Association asked for Tk 8 a kg, the government-fixed rate this season was Tk 6.75, cut to Tk 6 on 30 August 2026. Rajshahi and Rangpur together grow about 70 percent of the crop, which is where the protests are. Fertiliser is at government-fixed rates, urea and TSP at Tk 27, DAP Tk 21 and MoP Tk 20 a kg, but with TSP and DAP stocks below safe levels in 2026 farmers paid Tk 2-3 a kg above those rates.

Unit economics

ItemRangeEvidenceSuggest a correction
Monthly working capital৳30,000 – ৳40,000Disputed
Selling price৳15 – ৳30 / kgOfficial source
Variable cost৳12 – ৳22 / kgDisputed
Gross margin-300% – 30%Editorial estimate
Time to first revenue90 – 120 daysEditorial estimate
Break-even time4 – 24 monthsEditorial estimate
Cash cycle90 – 330 daysEditorial estimate
Waste / loss3.8% – 8.8%Editorial estimate
Daily capacity500 – 3,000Editorial estimate

What you need to start

  • A plough or power tiller for land preparation, irrigation, a sprayer and late blight chemical, spades and hand tools for lifting, a sorting area, and 50 or 62 kg sacks (Tk 125 a sack in Fulbari).Equipment
  • Fertiliser at the government-fixed farmer-level price: urea Tk 27, TSP Tk 27, DAP Tk 21 and MoP Tk 20 a kg; at dealer level Tk 25, Tk 25, Tk 19 and Tk 18. The per-bigha dose for potato could not be verified here and should be taken from the local sub-assistant agriculture officer.Starting stock
  • Seed potato at BADC's fixed 2026-27 rates (7 September 2026): at farmer level, certified and standard class Grade-A Tk 30 and Grade-B Tk 28 a kg, foundation class Tk 36 and Tk 34, and BARI Alu-7 (Diamant) from imported basic seed Tk 73 and Tk 71. Plantlets Tk 9 each. Supplied in crates instead of sacks, certified class is Tk 53 and Tk 51.Starting stock
  • Trade licence from the city corporation, municipality or union parishad: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000, issued in 3-5 working days and renewed yearly. Not needed to sell your own crop, but needed to buy and resell or to hold stock commercially in a cold store.Licence
  • Agricultural marketing licence from the Department of Agricultural Marketing under the Agricultural Marketing Act 2018 and its rules, applied for on Form-1, including online. It applies to traders, arotdars and anyone holding stock. The fee and validity could not be verified here.Licence
  • Spotting late blight and spraying in time, grading seed tubers, curing the skin after lifting, and judging when to put potato into cold storage and when to take it out. That last judgement is the real skill in this trade.Skill
  • A BADC seed dealer or an approved private seed supplier, a fertiliser dealer, the cold store, and a gang of 8-10 labourers for lifting at Tk 400-500 a day.Supplier
  • Space in a cold store. The government-fixed maximum rent is Tk 6 a kg (decided 30 August 2026), down from Tk 6.75. That is Tk 300 on a 50 kg bag and about Tk 450 on a 62 kg bag. Bookings run out before the season.Workspace

How the work is done

  1. 1Decide the variety in September. Local potato fetches about Tk 9 a kg more at wholesale than the Holland types (Tk 29.80 against Tk 20.53 in August 2026), but the Holland varieties yield more and hold better in storage.
  2. 2Book seed potato early. BADC fixed the 2026-27 rates on 7 September 2026: at farmer level, certified class Grade-A Tk 30 and Grade-B Tk 28 a kg, foundation class Tk 36 and Tk 34. Dealers who pay by 15 October get a lower advance-purchase rate.
  3. 3If you are renting land, put the terms in writing and find out the rate first. In Faridpur and Rajbari in 2024 land rent went from Tk 8,000-10,000 a bigha to Tk 20,000-25,000, and that one cost alone flips profit into loss.
  4. 4Buy fertiliser ahead. Government farmer-level rates are urea and TSP Tk 27, DAP Tk 21 and MoP Tk 20 a kg, but with TSP and MoP stocks below safe levels in 2026, farmers in Rangpur and Rajshahi paid Tk 2-3 a kg more, up to Tk 300-400 a bag.
  5. 5Finish planting between mid-October and mid-November. Plant late and the heat at the end of February dries the haulm down before the tubers have filled.
  6. 6Get the late blight spray and the sprayer in before you need them. Three or four foggy days can take the field, and going out to look for the chemical then is already too late.
  7. 7At least two weeks before lifting, decide whether you sell off the field, keep it at home or put it in cold storage. Cold store bookings are gone before the season starts.
  8. 8If you store, do the sums per bag. The Fulbari example: a 62 kg bag, Tk 600 for the potato, Tk 60 transport, Tk 450 rent and Tk 125 for the sack, Tk 1,185 in all; unless it fetches at least Tk 19 a kg on the way out, it is a loss.
  9. 9Check the rent receipt against the number of bags, and check the rent is being charged at the government-fixed rate per kg. Growers are demanding that the first 5 kg of each bag be deducted before rent is charged, and the Rajshahi district committee has recommended the same.
  10. 10Time the withdrawal. Dhaka wholesale in September was Tk 15-20, against Tk 13-16 the same week a year earlier. Waiting lifts the price, but every extra month of rent and rot takes back the gain.
  11. 11Set aside next year's seed. Sorting out Grade-A sized tubers (25-40 mm) saves the whole seed bill next season.
  12. 12If you are buying and reselling as a business, take the agricultural marketing licence and a trade licence. Selling only what you grew on your own land needs neither.

Seasons

  1. JanHigh
  2. FebHigh
  3. MarHigh
  4. AprNormal
  5. MayLow
  6. JunLow
  7. JulNormal
  8. AugNormal
  9. SepNormal
  10. OctHigh
  11. NovHigh
  12. DecHigh
HighNormalLow

Where it works well

  • Strong fitBogura · The cold storage and potato trading hub of the north; the price at Bogura's cold store gates sets the northern market.
  • Strong fitDinajpur · A large potato area including Fulbari with many cold stores; in August 2026 its cold stores still held 143,000 bags that could not be sold.
  • Strong fitJoypurhat · A small district with a high concentration of potato and cold stores, sitting between the Bogura and Rangpur potato belts.
  • Strong fitMunshiganj · The old potato belt on the silt between the Padma and the Meghna, right beside the Dhaka wholesale market, so the crop reaches the city the day it is lifted.
  • Strong fitRajshahi · Part of the Rajshahi-Rangpur belt that grows about 70 percent of the crop; in August 2026 growers and traders here threatened a major protest unless the rent fell, asking for Tk 5.20 or Tk 4.60 a kg.
  • Strong fitRangpur · The country's leading potato region; Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions together grow about 70 percent of national output. Most cold stores are here, and the rent protests start here too.
  • Strong fitThakurgaon · An export-grade potato district with 1,45,532 tonnes of cold storage capacity. It was here that the field price fell to Tk 3-7 a kg in February 2026.
  • PossibleCumilla · An old potato district beside the Dhaka-Chattogram highway, so the crop can go to either city's market.
  • PossibleGaibandha · Potato does well on the sandy loam of the chars, but this was one of the districts worst hit by the 2026 fertiliser shortage.
  • PossibleLalmonirhat · Part of the Rangpur potato belt, but with few cold stores of its own, so most of the crop has to travel to Rangpur or Bogura.
  • PossibleNilphamari · BADC's foundation seed potato farm at Domar is here, so seed is easier to get and contract seed production is possible.

Risks and cautions

  • HighDemand: The price collapsing at harvest. In February-March 2026 the field price in Thakurgaon fell to Tk 3-7 a kg and wholesale in Naogaon to Tk 5-7, against a production cost of Tk 12-15. This is not a rare event: the country grows more potato than it eats, exports are small, and the price falls almost every February. The government announced a Tk 22 floor at the cold storage gate and never enforced it, and a plan to buy 50,000 tonnes was dropped in November 2025.
  • HighWorking capital: Cold storage rent is paid up front and the money comes back much later. At Tk 6-6.75 a kg, storing one bigha's crop costs Tk 17,400-19,575, and that potato sells five to eight months later. In Fulbari in August 2026 the cost per bag had reached Tk 1,185 while potato was selling at Tk 12-13.50 a kg, so the rent never came back. Nationally, storage alone takes about Tk 2,500 crore in a season.
  • MediumSpoilage: Rot. Cold storage loses an average 3.82 percent over nine months; potato kept at home loses 7.35 percent in three. Holding on for a better price raises the risk, because every month adds both rent and rot. A power failure or a swing in temperature can take a whole chamber.
  • MediumDependency: Fertiliser supply. The price is fixed by government, but in August 2026 TSP stock was 3.53 lakh tonnes against a 4 lakh tonne safe level and MoP 1.96 lakh against 3 lakh. Farmers in Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Nilphamari and Rajshahi paid Tk 2-3 a kg, or Tk 300-400 a bag, above the fixed rate, and planting does not wait.
  • HighOther: Late blight. In foggy, cold, damp weather a field can blacken in a few days and the tubers stay small. Spray late and the whole season's investment, Tk 30,000-40,000 a bigha, stays in the ground.

Sources

What changed

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Stories about this business

What went wrongA woman potato farmer in Munshiganj, in a Prothom Alo report

It cost 26-28 taka a kilo to grow, and 52-68 paisa a kilo came back

After her husband's stroke she took on about 350,000 taka of debt to grow potatoes on 3.2 acres. Production and storage cost 26-28 taka a kilo, while the wholesale price at the cold store fell to 8.

Reasons
Price drop, Working capital

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