After months of hard work, potato farmers are struggling to sell their harvest. At the Food Corporation of Bhutan’s auction yard in Phuentshogling, low market demand and falling prices have left many farmers waiting for days. Some are even returning home with their potatoes unsold.
The auction yard is receiving potatoes from farmers in neighbouring districts, including Chapcha in Chhukha, Haa, Paro and Wangdue Phodrang.
According to FCBL, about 42 trucks carrying around 10,000 bags of potatoes are currently waiting to be auctioned. All four large storage halls are full, while only about three truckloads are auctioned each day.
The prolonged wait and low prices have left farmers struggling to recover the costs and effort involved in producing their harvest.
Tandin Wangchuk, a farmer from Chhukha, said he waited for more than a week before managing to sell his potatoes at just 250 Ngultrum per quintal.
He said farmers are facing difficulties and called for government intervention, adding that low returns despite hard work are discouraging those encouraged to take up agriculture and become self-reliant.
Dawa Gyeltshen, a farmer from Paro, said buyers from across the border are reluctant to purchase Bhutanese potatoes, while prices continue to fluctuate.
He said the price offered dropped from 300 Ngultrum per quintal one day to 200 Ngultrum the next. He added that farmers had been stuck at the auction yard for more than eight days, unable even to unload their potatoes for auction.
Meanwhile, Chencho, a farmer from Haa, said one reason for the low demand at the auction yard is that some farmers sell their potatoes directly to buyers in India without going through FCBL.
He said this has reduced the interest of buyers visiting the FCBL auction yard, leaving farmers with fewer buyers and lower prices for their produce.
According to FCBL, increased potato supplies at the auction yard, coupled with higher production and lower prices in India, have reduced demand for Bhutanese potatoes and pushed down prices.
To ease the backlog, FCBL is regulating potato supplies, sharing daily market updates with farmers, targeting institutional buyers and exploring new markets in India and abroad.
In the long term, FCBL plans to develop value-added products and promote better potato varieties. The current Yusi Marp variety has a limited shelf life and is losing market competitiveness.
Kinley Dem, Phuentshogling
Edited by Sonam Pem
