Green coconut brightens middlemen, not growers
Farming of green coconut has brought high profits for the middlemen but little for the growers in Rajapur upazila of the district.
“The green coconut contains sweet, cool and pure water which refreshes the body, so people like to drink it in hot weather, said Agriculture Officer Md Riaz Bahadur.
A coconut tree bears fruits in four to five years, he added.
Local traders buy coconuts from the farmers and sell them to middlemen, who supply the fruit to wholesalers in Dhaka, said Rahman Sheikh, a trader in the area who takes his coconuts to Dhaka.
“Each coconut is bought for Tk 13 to Tk 15 from the farmers by the local collectors. I buy it from them for Tk 20, and sell it for Tk 29 to Tk 32 to the warehouses in the capital. There, the fruit sellers or vendors purchase it for Tk 36 to Tk 45 and sell it to consumers for Tk 45 to Tk 60 or more, depending on the situation,” Rahman said.
“We load 5,000 to 6,000 coconuts on a truck for each trip to Dhaka and make four to six trips a month. We earn Tk 5 to Tk 10 by selling each coconut," said Bachchu Howlader, a partner of Rahman.
Rahman and Bachchu said they collect green coconuts from the southern region as the quality is good and price reasonable.
“I am surprised to learn that a green coconut is sold for Tk 60 to Tk 70 in the capital, while we get only Tk 12 to Tk 15 for each. The traders are becoming rich but we are remaining poor,” said Majeda Begum, a local farmer.
“It is our misfortune that all the profit goes to the middlemen,” she added.
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