Trade of date palm jaggery heats up in Rajshahi

OUR CORRESPONDENT

RAJSHAHI, Dec 28: As the winter ambience now features noticeably everywhere in Rajshahi, trade of jaggery made from date palm has gained momentum in the markets of the district.

Industry insiders including the producers expect to make an annual turnover of Tk1.5 billion (Tk 150 crore) from the molasses sale.

During a visit, this correspondent found that the local molasses markets were bustling with buyers and sellers coming from near and far.

Sources at the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Rajshahi said they set a target of annual turnover of Tk1.5 billion from date palm molasses sale this season.

According to the DAE, Rajshahi, there are about 11,08,018 date palm trees in the region. Sources said twenty kilograms of juice comes from one date palm tree per year, from which eight kg jaggery can be produced.

Accordingly, total date palm molasses production is expected to be 88,64,146 kgs or 8,864 tonnes this season and the total sale will be Tk 141,20,44,000.

If the online market is taken into account, the total jaggery sale will be more than Tk 1.5 billion (Tk150 crore).

During a recent visit to various markets including Baneshwar, Bagha and Charghat, this correspondent found that the molasses markets had remained crowded since early morning. Huge supplies of different varieties of molasses including patali, jhola, and grains came for sale in the markets. The price of per kg date molasses ranged from Tk120 to Tk150. These supplies of molasses will go to various places of the country including Dhaka, Narayanganj, Tangail, and Barisal.

Rubel Ahsan, who came from Dhaka to buy date molasses, said, "I buy four to five tonnes of date molasses from each market, pack it and send it to Dhaka. There are 100 other traders like me who buy molasses from different markets in Rajshahi and send it to different districts of the country."

Jewel Rana, a gachhi (date palm sap collector) from Arani area of Bagha upazila, said many people make molasses by mixing date juice with sugar, the price of which is low. This molasses is bought by wholesalers in local markets and sent to different parts of the country.

Asif Iqbal, a businessman from Puthia upazila, takes orders for Rajshahi mangoes, date molasses and various other things online. Then he sends the items to the buyers through courier. He said Rajshahi molasses has a good reputation across the country. But since it is not profitable, most of the farmers mix sugar and make date molasses. This reduces the taste. For this reason, online entrepreneurs buy pure molasses at a higher price from the farmers. As a result, the price of molasses online is slightly higher than in the open market.

"In the current season, I am selling date molasses at a price of Tk250 to 300 per kilogram. Still, I receive a lot of orders to get safe molasses," Asif Iqbal added.

Enamul Haque, proprietor of Bhai Bhai Enterprises in Bagha Bazar, said that a jaggery market sits in Bagha on Sundays and Thursdays. During the winter, more than a hundred tonnes of jaggery is sold at each market.

This jaggery goes to various places in the country including Dhaka, Manikganj, Narayanganj, Tangail and Barisal. Last year, date jaggery was sold at Tk100 to 120 per kg depending on the quality. However, this time, with the increase in the prices of all goods, jaggery is also being sold at a higher price. The jaggery that has already appeared in the market is being sold at Tk120 to 150 per kg. As a result, this time, jaggery worth

Tk500 to Tk 550 million (Tk50-55 crore) will be sold in Bagha alone. As a result, the producers and traders will earn lakhs of taka.

Umme Salma, deputy director of the DAE, Rajshahi said the target of date palm jaggery production in the current season has been set at 9,000 tonnes. Jaggery production started after collection of date palm juice began in November, which will continue until February.

Consequently, the economy of the Rajshahi region has received a boost with the increase in employment opportunities centring round the date jaggery production.

"I expect that there will be a trade of about Tk1.5 billon date palm jaggery in Rajshahi this season."

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