Betel leaf prices shoot up in Gopalganj dist

GOPALGANJ, Mar 20: Betel leaf prices have shot up abnormally in the district.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Gopalganj, a total of 65 hectares of land have been brought under betel leaf cultivation with the production target of 130 tonnes.
The production is not sufficient for the district. Traders are bringing in more betel leaf from Bagherhat and Khulna, DAE officials added.
Taposh Biswas of Orakandi village under Kasiani upazila said he cultivated the item on 100 decimals of land,
The farmer said betel leaf cultivation was cost intensive. "I have already spent Tk 0.3 million and there are 1,000 labourers for taking care of the field."
Moreover, cold wave and disease attack have led to the price hike.
Local trader Md Nashu Sheikh said one "bira" betel leaf is sold at Tk 400 to Tk 500 which was Tk 200 to Tk 250 earlier.
Another trader of the district town Mohammad Sheikh said the situation arose for the shortage of supply.
Many cultivators were not able to harvest their produce due to disease attack, the trader added.

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