Marketing Bangladesh"s potatoes : present patterns and future prospects

Production has increased remarkably, yet producer prices remain low and the nation"s cold storage capacity for potatoes is underutilized. This study, employing a food systems approach, examines the capacity of Bangladesh"s potato marketing systems to address these problems. Beginning with an overview of the Bangladeshi economy in Chapter II, the study highlights problems in providing food, employment, and income to the country"s rural population and explores the potential role that potatoes can play. Trends in agricultural production and international trade are also discussed. Potato production is the focus of Chapter III, which includes details on producer characteristics, varieties, and farm-level constraints. Chapter IV, on potato consumption, assesses the Bangladeshi diet, consumer tastes and preferences, price and income factors, and consumption constraints. Potato marketing is treated in detail in Chapter V, which outlines marketing channels and their participants, prices and margins, government programs and policies, questions of potato storage, and constraints on marketing improvements; the overwhelming importance of domestic, as opposed to foreign, markets is indicated. synthesizes the results of the study, presents policy implications, and concludes with some suggestions for future research. Includes 21 tables and a detailed bibliography.