Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) is looking at the potential for a trade turnover of pineapple, a traditional GI product, amounting to around Tk 760 crore this season amid bumper yield in Tangail.
Tangail’s Madhupur upazila is famous for producing sweet and juicy pineapples that have a widespread demand all over the country. This year, due to favourable weather and proper care, there has been a high yield of pineapples in Tangail.
Farmers said that they are happy with the price this year as there is a high demand for pineapples amid a bumper yield in the region due to favourable weather.
Wholesalers say that prices have also increased due to the relatively high demand in the markets.
The demand is high due to hot weather. The Agriculture Department says that this year, Madhupur has a potential trade of Tk 760 crore in pineapples.
According to the Agriculture Department, pineapple has been cultivated on 7,794 hectares of land in the district this season. The production target is 2, 72,000 tonnes.
The red soil pineapple has also been recognized as a GI product. As a result, farmers and traders are happy. This pineapple has now become the main source of Madhupur’s economy. Every year, pineapples worth crores of taka are sold. The sale lasts for about 6 months more or less.
Farmers from different areas are bringing pineapples to Garo Bazar and Assra Bazar every day. Wholesalers are buy pineapples and send those to different parts of the country.
Madhupur Garh’s Jalchatra is the largest pineapple market. In addition, Moter Bazar and Garo Bazar are also big markets for buying and selling pineapples. Wholesalers from different parts of the country come to these markets to buy pineapples. This year, there are many wholesalers during the peak season. Wholesalers from various districts of the country including Mymensingh, Jamalpur, Kishoreganj, Sherpur, Dhaka, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Kushtia, Barisal, Gazipur and others come. A large amount of pineapples are bought and sold in the bustling market every day.
Shaheen, a pineapple farmer from Jalchatra Bazar, said that the market has been going well for the past few days. Pineapples that were selling for 40 taka a few days ago are now being sold for 2 to 3 taka more. He believes this is happening because of high wholesale demand.
Ashek Parvez, Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension, said: “There is a high demand for pineapples in the market and on top of that yields have improved this year due to favourable weather. So, farmers are happy getting good prices for their produce.”
Farmer Suruj Ali said that the cost of a pineapple seedling is Tk 4-5 . The planting cost is Tk 1 , the cost of leaf mulch, hoeing cost, fertilizer, poison cost, sun protection cover, rolling and cutting cost, and it comes to Tk 15-18.
Trader Shamsul Haque said that where the rent of a small truck was Tk 5-6 thousand a year ago, now it is Tk 7-8 thousand . Despite the increase in rent, the price of pineapple has increased due to the increase in demand from buyers.
Belal, a member of the local truck drivers’ union, said that more than a hundred small and large trucks loading pineapples go to different districts from Madhupur every day. In addition, they are also loaded directly into trucks from the gardens. Since the road is paved, the trucks also go to the gardens inside the village. Pineapples also go to their destinations from the gardens.
Shahidul Islam, general secretary of the Jalchhatra Truck Drivers’ Union, said that pineapples are sent to different parts of the country every day from this market.
Locals say that this is the largest pineapple market in the area. The market is bustling with people from various professions, including shopkeepers, porters, and labourers.
Pineapple cultivation in Bangladesh started in 1942. Dayamoyi Sangma, a craftsman from the small tribal Garo community of Idilpur village in Madhupur, was the first to start pineapple cultivation.
He brought 750 seedlings from Meghalaya, India and started pineapple cultivation in his house. Due to the enrichment of that cultivation, pineapple is now cultivated in different regions of the country. This pineapple is mixed with a hundred years of tradition and history.
