Bangladesh: Potato Crop Hits 11.5 Million Tonnes Against 9 Million Tonnes of Demand
Bangladesh grew a record 11.5 million tonnes of potatoes in 2024–25, well above domestic demand of about 9 million tonnes. Only 3–4% is processed.
Bangladesh harvested a record 1.15 crore tonnes (11.5 million tonnes) of potatoes in fiscal year 2024–25. The figure comes from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), as reported by The Daily Star. Output rose 9% from 1.06 crore tonnes (10.6 million tonnes) a year earlier. Planted area grew 8% to 4.92 lakh hectares (492,000 ha).
FAOSTAT data, published by Our World in Data, confirm the scale. They show 10.60 million tonnes for 2024. In 2000, the country produced only 2.93 million tonnes. Output has grown about 3.6 times in 24 years. Average yield almost doubled, from 12.1 t/ha in 2000 to 23.2 t/ha in 2024.
A structural surplus
Domestic demand is around 90 lakh tonnes (9 million tonnes) per year, according to the same report. The 2024–25 crop was therefore about 2.5 million tonnes larger than demand. Field prices fell to Tk 9–11 per kg. The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) estimates the average production cost at Tk 14 per kg. In northern regions, costs were around Tk 20 per kg.
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Storage, processing and exports cannot absorb it
Cold storage capacity has grown to about 35–40 lakh tonnes (3.5–4 million tonnes). That is roughly one-third of the harvest. Processing capacity is only 70,000–80,000 tonnes. The industry processes just 3–4% of output. Exports reached only 62,000 tonnes.
For comparison, the report cites processing shares of 60–65% in the Netherlands, Germany, France and the USA. India processes 5–7% and China 15%. The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that more than a quarter of output in Bangladesh is lost after harvest, the report adds.
Why it matters
Bangladesh has solved the production problem but not the marketing problem. Each new record crop pushes farm prices below cost. Growers then face losses, and cold-store space becomes a bottleneck.
The gaps are clear: processing, exports and storage. For processors and exporters, cheap raw material is available in large volumes. For seed and input suppliers, the market is large, but growers’ margins are thin. Without new demand, further yield gains will mainly depress prices.
Photo: A potato field in Bangladesh (illustrative). কুউ পুলক / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
