Good yield, less price

Good yield of amra (hog plum) fails to bring smile on thousands of growers in Barisal, Jhalakathi and Pirojpur districts during the ongoing peak season as the prices see a drastic fall.

Over 1,500 hectares of land in the three districts are used for cultivation of the popular fruit, said sources at the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE).

In Swrupkati upazila of Pirojpur, 2500 tonnes of the fruit has been produced on 159 hectares of land and in Jhalakhati Sadar, 3640 tonnes has been produced on 260 hectares of land, said upazila agriculture officers of the two highest amra producing areas of the region.

Flowers appear in the trees in the Bangla months of Magh and Falgun (mid-January to mid-February) and the fruit is plucked from Ashar to Ashwin (mid-June to mid-September), DAE sources said.

Hog plum wholesale centres at Vimruli in Jhalakathi and Swrupkathi, Atghar, Kuriana and Jindakhati in Pirojpur are now busy with selling and buying of the fruit.

“This year amra production would reach around 25 thousand tonne, a 15 percent increase than last year's. But the huge production has led to fall in the market price,” said Tushar Kanti Sammadder, deputy director, DAE, Barisal.

Farmers of Atghar, Kuriana and Jindakathi areas under Swrupkathi upazila said they sell hog plum for Tk 900 to Tk 1000 per maund (40 kg) to the local wholesale buyers whereas last year's prices were between Tk 1800 and Tk 2000.

“This year, we have to sell a maund of amra for Tk 900 while the price was Tk 1800 last year,” said Aynal, a wholesaler of Mochana village under Swrupkati upazila.

“Last year, I sold 200 maunds of amra grown on four acres of land but this year the yield from the same land reached 250 maunds,” said Nazrul Islam, a farmer of Atgar.

Farmers alleged that they are not getting the fair price this year due to control of the market by middlemen.