Low cucumber price disheartens peasants

RANGPUR, May 12: A good yield of cucumber has failed to bring smiles on the faces of the growers of the district owing to its plunging price this season.

Unlike previous years, the cucumber cultivators in the district have become disappointed, as they are deprived of fair price for their produces.

According to sources, the peasants under the district cultivated the vegetable with the hope of earning a good profit this season. But their hopes of having fair price got shattered. At present, cucumber is sold at much lower rate discouraging the growers to cultivate it in the next season, sources further said.

Many poor and marginal farmers had borrowed money at a high interest rate from the money lenders and NGOs to cultivate the vegetable. Some of them harvested their produce at the earliest possible time to repay loan. But the low price of the vegetable is upsetting them, sources alleged.

Growers are counting huge losses as cucumber is now being sold at Tk 200 to Tk 250 per maund (40Kg) whereas it was sold at Tk 500 to Tk 600 per maund last year, sources further alleged.

Growers alleged that vegetable traders are selling per kg cucumber at Tk 20 to Tk 40 in different markets which they buy at Tk 4.0 to Tk 6.0 per kg from the cultivators.

Manik Mia (40), a cucumber grower at Chhilimpur village of Pirganj upazila expressed his dissatisfaction saying that he cultivated cucumber on 35 decimals of land this year spending additional cost. But now he has to incur huge loss because of declining price of the vegetable.

Expressing frustration Md. Kamruzzaman, another cucumber grower of Mamudpur village of Latifpur union under Mithapukur upazila told The FE that last year he earned around Tk 70,000 by farming cucumber on 30 decimals of his land. Encouraged by good profit he cultivated the vegetable on 40 decimals of land this year. Despite a bumper yield, its low price has disheartened him, he added.

Talking to this correspondent, peasants expressed their dissatisfaction over the drop in cucumber prices. They urged the government to take necessary steps in this regard so that the growers can get fair price for their produces.

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