Partial view of a sweet shop in Pabna town — FE Photo OUR CORRESPONDENT
PABNA, Aug 17: Export of pure chhana (a kind of milk product) and butter from Pabna region to 15 countries of the world including Canada, England, USA, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Kuwait is now playing a remarkable role in foreign currency earning.
Every year foreign currencies worth more than Tk 500 million (50 crore) are earned by exporting chhana and butter abroad, said local businessmen.
Pabna takes a pride in producing country's most tempting and delicious chhana and butter.
About Tk10 million (one crore) worth of chhana and butter made from pure milk are traded locally every day, the businessmen added.
Pabna, a northern district famous for its dairy industry, has also earned a name for producing different kinds of sweets, especially chhana, and butter which have high demand across the country.
According to the Pabna District Livestock Office, several hundred workers are engaged in the local chhana and butter factories.
Both the owners and workers of the factories have gained economic self-sufficiency and sweet consumers across the country are also very much fond of these attractive, tempting and delicious milk products.
To them, if it is a pure chhana made by Pabna, then there is nothing to say. Pabna's chhana is unmatched among the tempting and delicious sweet items of the country. So Pabna chhana is most valued and respected by upscale sweet traders.
A good majority of the demand for chhana is met by Pabna's chhana. The chhana produced here is supplied all over the country.
Chhana producers here think that it will be possible to export more pure chhana abroad if they get government patronisation.
The factory owners here have been producing chhana for generations. They produce chhana depending on their daily needs.
According to the traders, about eight kilograms of chhana is produced from one maund of milk.
Chhana is sold at Tk350 per kg including noni (cream). The price of chhana also ups and downs in line with the price of milk.
They hope that the production of chhana will increase if the cow farmers are given low interest loans and the price of cow feed declines.
According to the artisans, chhana is made in different steps. Pabna chhana traders have earned the trust of sweet traders by keeping the tradition. The chhana here could earn fame across the country for not compromising on quality.
Ravi Kumar Ghosh (47), a resident of Demra village in Faridpur upazila of the district, joined his ancestral profession of preparing chhana after passing HSC examination.
At first he had a desire to pursue other job, but to keep up the existence of the ancestral business, on the advice of his father Amit Kumar Ghosh, he concentrated on making chhana and butter.
His grandfather Saroj Kumar Ghosh was also a renowned chhana and butter producer of the region.
Imran Khan, who has lived in Canada for a long time, told The Financial Express, that he has a sweet shop there. A factory of him in Pabna produces 100 maunds of chhana and butter per day.
He makes rosgolla and swandesh from chhana and supply them to different districts including Dhaka. Factory manager Abdur Rahman said every week rosgolla and swandesh are also sent to Canada.
Dulal Ghosh of Demara village in Faridpur upazila of the district told the FE that Ghosh's 80-90 factories in Pabna region produce about 1,400 maunds of milk every day.
That amount of milk produces about 250 maunds of chhana. Out of this, 30 to 35 maunds of chhana are sold in the local markets and the rest go to other parts of the country.
He also said eight kg milk and three kg fatty Nani (cream) are available in one maund of milk. By burning three fat, one and a half kg pure butter is obtained. As such, an average of 2,200 litres of butter is produced in the district every day.
According to sources from the Animal Husbandry Department, greater Pabna has about 22,000 dairy farms.
Apart from this, almost every house in the village keeps cows and produces milk. 15 to 16.5 lakh liters of milk is produced daily in this region.
Out of this, 0.15 million (1.5 lakh) liters of milk from Milkvita and 225,000 liters from Aftab, Akiz, Pran amd BRAC are bought by various private milk processing companies. Apart from this, sweet makers buy 50,000 to 60,000 liters of milk every day.
Pabna District Livestock Officer Dr Gaurang Kumar Talukder told the FE that the District Animal Resources Department has already provided advice and assistance to chhana and butter traders in various ways including training and making inventory in yards.
"We have given them clean saver machines through livestock and dairy project development. This reduces their costs and enables them to produce and supply pure chhana to remote areas of Bangladesh," he said.
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