The Bangladesh Cold Storage Association (BCSA) has called on the government to lower bank loan interest rates and electricity bills in a bid to alleviate financial pressures on potato farmers.

They also urged the government to declare cold storage an agro-based industry to protect potato farmers.

BCSA president Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu made these demands at a press conference on Saturday in the capital.

He said that the bank loan interest rate, including penalty interest, should be reduced from 17 per cent to 7 per cent.

He also urged the government to lower electricity bills to a uniform Tk 5 per unit from Tk 13.62 during peak hours and Tk 9.62 during off-peak hours.

He demanded withdrawal of VAT and Tax Deduction at Source and demanded that loan repayment schedules be changed from quarterly to annual instalments.

BCSA president stated that potato prices were high in 2024 due to lower production. In response, farmers have cultivated potatoes extensively in 2025, which is expected to increase output by around 40 per cent compared with last year.

‘New potatoes have already entered the market, with the remaining ones to be stored from late February,’ he added.

Meanwhile, bank loan interest rates for cold storage operations have surged to around 15 per cent, with an additional 2 per cent penalty for delayed instalments.

The electricity bills, loading-unloading costs, sack replacements, rising wages and allowances per the Minimum Wage Board, bonuses, insurance, ammonia gas, lubricant oil, repair costs, and other ancillary expenses have all increased significantly, the BCSA argued.

The rent for storing potatoes per kg in cold storage stands at Tk 9.62, which rises to Tk 12 after including other costs.

However, considering farmers’ and traders’ financial capacity, BCSA’s executive committee set the rent at Tk 8 per kg in November 2024.

In 2017, the High Court ordered storing potato in 50 kg bags in cold storage, but from 2019, users stored 55-70 kg bags while paying fees for 50 kg bags, causing owners financial losses.

The BCSA leaders said that, out of 400 cold storage facilities in the country, 300 are struggling to repay bank loans and meet operational expenses.

In 2024, storage fees were set at Tk 7 per kg, but misleading claims suggest it was Tk 4. Such misinformation may disrupt the smooth operation of the cold storage industry, they said.

The rent rate in 2013-2017 left cold storage owners burdened with debt. Due to financial struggles, many cold storage owners are yet to recover from those setbacks.

They added that if vested interests push for an unreasonable reduction in storage rent to serve their gains, cold storage owners may be unable to continue operation.

They also said that this would cause massive losses to potato farmers, traders, and other stakeholders and could lead to severe economic disruption, including risks to national food security.