Green coconut sales gain popularity in Bagerhat

Suitable weather for coconut cultivation has brought smiles to the farmers of Bagerhat, a district famous for the fruit.

The farmers are selling their produce to the local buyers at Tk 22-28 per piece and the local buyers are selling those to the wholesalers at Tk 35-38 per piece. Most of the farmers are willing to sell green coconuts instead of waiting until they are ripe. As a result, coconut oil millers are facing a dearth in the supply of dried coconuts.

To make matters worse, the supply of dried coconuts started to fall due to a rise in demand for coconut water over the last few years, resulting in the mills' daily production falling.

A dried coconut trader Tarapada Shaha said, ''I am not getting a sufficient number of dried coconuts and my business is about to stall."

Although the oil millers are facing a loss, the farmers expressed satisfaction with the price of green coconuts.

Shahidul Sheikh, a van puller, of Afra village in Kachua upazila, said ''I have sold my green coconuts at Tk 28 per piece. I can sell the green coconuts every month. Selling green coconuts also boosts production. On the other hand, if I want to sell dried coconuts, I can hardly sell them twice a year.''

Abul Hossain Khan, another farmer of the same area, said, ''If I don't sell the green coconuts, it results in losses for me because rats and mites damage the fruits.''

Mizan Sheikh of Sangdia village in Kachua upazila said, "The green coconut traders clean the top part of the coconut trees while collecting the fruits from our orchard, which is very necessary for an increased production."

Another farmer of Tangrakhali area in Kachua upazila also echoed the same saying that he does not wait till the coconuts dry up fearing rat and mite infestation.

"As I get four times more money by selling green coconuts, why should I sell dried coconuts?" he questioned.

A local trader Ripon Sheikh said, ''As we get huge profit by selling green coconuts many others like me have engaged themselves in this business.''

''We buy green coconuts at Tk 22-28 and sell them to the wholesalers at Tk 30-38," he said, adding that both the farmers and traders are happy with it.

A wholesaler of Fataypur Bazar of Kachua wishing not to be named said that they buy green coconuts at Tk 30-38 depending on the size and sell them at Tk 50-55 to the buyers based in Dhaka and the Northern region.

"Sometimes we get more money in the summer season. The green coconut business has made many unemployed people employed. At least seven to eight trucks of green coconuts are transported to different districts including Dhaka daily," he added.

Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Bagerhat Md Azizur Rahman said the sale of green coconuts has gained momentum in the district as the farmers are reaping good profit.

As the top part of the coconut trees are cleaned each time while harvesting green coconuts, the production has also increased, he added.