Good prices bring smile to Lalmonirhat jute growers
Farmers in Lalmonirhat are happy as they are getting good prices of jute in the local markets this year.
Jute production in the district fell by around 50 percent due to heavy rain during the growing stage, said farmers and agriculture officials.
Farmers said they are getting Tk 2,500 to Tk 2,700 for one maund of jute, while the price was only Tk 700 to Tk 800 last year. Due to loss from jute farming last year, many farmers didn't cultivate the crop this year, they added.
“I got only 15 maunds of jute fiber from two bighas of land this year, though I got 30 maunds last year from the same land,” jute grower Iman Ali, 48, of Khatamari village in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila said, adding that he got only Tk 21 thousand for 30 maunds of jute last year, but he got Tk 39 thousand for 15 maunds this year.
Sources in the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Lalmonirhat said jute was grown on only 4,263 hectares of land in the district this year, whereas it was 6,763 hectares last year.
Nesarul Islam, 55, a farmer at Bongram village, said he cultivated jute on four bighas of land last year, but grew it on only two bighas this year. “I have already earned Tk 13 thousand from selling 5 maunds of jute, and I am hoping to earn Tk 27 to Tk 28 thousand from selling the rest 11 maunds,” he said.
Nazrul Islam, 60, a farmer at Doljor village of Aditmari upazila, said they spend Tk 5 to Tk 6 thousand for jute farming on one bigha of land. “Jute farming is profitable, if we get market price of over Tk 1,500 per maund,” he added.
Jute trader Abdus Sattar of Lalmonirhat town said jute price has increased in the local market due to high demand and inadequate supply. “There is high demand for jute fibers due to usage of jute products across the country,” he said.
Deputy director of DAE in Lalmonirhat, Safayet Hossain, said if the present market price remains farmers will get more interest in growing jute next year.
Comments