A display of a wide range of vegetables pictured at a kitchen market in Lalmonirhat district (left) and farmers collecting their produced cabbages in a field at Ranipukur in Mithapikur upazila of Rangpur district- FE Photos An abrupt and continuous downtrend in the prices of winter vegetables comes as a matter of great disappointment for several thousand farmers in Rangpur, Lalmonirhat and Magura districts this season. Farmers have become frustrated as price of every vegetable has shown a rapid downslide in recent time.
Our correspondent from Rangpur reports: Cultivators of winter vegetables in Rangpur district are disappointed owing to plummeting prices of their produces during their peak harvesting time.
Growers said due to huge supply of winter vegetables in the markets resulting from their abundant production and lack of preservation facilities, they are being deprived of fair prices of their produces.
Moreover, farmers also blamed the syndicate made by a section of unscrupulous middlemen for the manipulation of vegetable.
According to sources , presently, at growers' level, per piece of cabbage is being sold at Tk4 to 5, a piece of cauliflower at Tk5 to 6, a kg radish at Tk2-3, per kg bean at Tk5-6 and a piece of gourd is sold at Tk10-15.
It is learnt, being unable to meet even transport and labour costs by selling vegetables, farmers
are selling their produces at throwaway prices in their fields.
Taking advantage of the situation, some traders are buying the vegetables from the growers at much lower prices and sending those to the big cities like Dhaka for making windfall profit.
A good number of cultivators alleged that in local markets, a syndicate of dishonest traders first sets low prices of the vegetables and then compel the growers to sell them at the prices.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Rangpur, the department set a target to bring 13,150 hectares of land under winter vegetables cultivation in the district this season.
Ansar Ali, a cauliflower grower at Nabdiganj in Pirgachha upazila, told The Financial Express that he cultivated cauliflower on one bigha of land this season spending more than Tk20,000 but its present price is quite disappointing, making him apprehensive about recovering even production cost.
Saju Mia, a grower at Ranipukur in Mithapukur upazila, told FE he cultivated cabbage on one bigha of land this season with the hope to earn satisfactory profit. But his hope may be shattered due to its price drop, he added. Meanwhile, vegetable growers said that despite huge production, they are compelled to harvest and sell their produces instantly at low prices to avoid damage due to lack of preservation facilities.
Consequently, they are deprived of fair price of their produces. In this situation, they put emphasis on specialised cold storages for vegetable preservation in the region.
Deputy Director of DAE, Rangpur Md Reaz Uddin told The Financial Express, winter vegetables have been produced profusely in the district this season, causing price drop.
But in the upcoming days vegetables prices are expected to rise. He also said they have already informed the higher authorities about setting up specialized cold storage in the district for the preservation of vegetables so that growers can get desired profit.
Our Lalmonirhat correspondent says: Winter vegetables have flooded every market of Lalmonirhat district due to huge production and abundant supply but the lower price has made the growers very much frustrated. Even they are not getting their production cost by selling their produced different winter vegetables.
Farmers who cultivated early-variety winter vegetables like potato, cabbage ,cauliflower, radish, brinjal, carrots and coriander have earned handsome profits by selling those. But many farmers who cultivated late-variety vegetables are now incurring huge loss; many of them already destroyed their vegetable fields.
There is hardly any buyer for their produced cabbage and cauliflower. Every year plenty of cauliflower, cabbage and brinjal are sent to other parts of the country from Lalmonirhat. They are mainly supplied to Karwan Bazar and other wholesale markets of Dhaka city. Every day 10-15 trucks loaded with cauliflower go to Dhaka from here. But in the last few days the demand for cauliflower has fallen. A farmer Ashraful of Mogolhat union of sadar upazila said many farmers destroyed cauliflower fields by tractor.
Shojal Mia of Chawratari village of Mogolhat union said he destroyed his 16 bigha cauliflower field. He said the cost of per cauliflower plant was Tk5. He planted 4,000 plants and incurred a loss of more than Tk 0.3 million.
According to the DAE, Lalmonirhat sources, farmers cultivated various types of vegetables on 5,900 hectares of land. Dr. ShaikhulArifin, deputy director of the DAE, Lalmonirhat said last year six districts of south eastern part of the country witnessed a severe flood. Farmers of these districts could not plant T-Aman paddy. They planted different vegetables which added extra production. This is also another reason for law price.
Our correspondent from Magura reports: An abnormal fall in prices of winter vegetables is frustrating Magura growers.
Farmers are selling cauliflower in the wholesale market at Tk 5 per piece as against Tk30 two weeks ago while cabbage is selling at Tk15 as against Tk 30 and radish at Tk 2 per kg as against Tk10 a couple of weeks ago.
In this situation, farmers are facing huge losses from sale of their vegetables.
Bashudeb Kundu, a farmer from Belnagar village under Magura sadar upazila, said, "Within a week, vegetable prices have fallen abnormally. I have brought my two bigha land under cauliflower cultivation this season. My production cost is about Tk40,000.
But selling cauliflower at Tk5 per kg, I shall not be able to cover production cost. Actually middlemen are exploiting us by making a syndicate."
When contacted, Magura DAE deputy director Dr MdYashin Ali admitted that vegetable prices are now lowest in the market.
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