, Feb. 8 -- Bangladesh Cold Storage Association, an organization of cold storage owners, on Saturday sought the government's policy support to keep potato prices affordable in the market by providing protection to potato farmers by bringing potato storage rent to a bearable level.

They have demanded that the interest rate on bank loans, including the prevailing penalty interest, be reduced from 17 percent to 7 percent and the unit rate of electricity bill be reduced from Tk 13.62 during peak hours and Tk 9.62 during off-peak hours to Tk 5. They also want the withdrawal of VAT and tax deduction at source (TDS).

The organisation's president, Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu, made the call at a press conference at its office.

He said that the ...