Low prices worry jute growers in northern districts

RAJSHAHI, Sept 14: Jute growers in the northern districts are now in utter despair as the price of the cash crop dropped this season, compared to the last year, despite a sharp increase in the production cost.
The farmers complained that they would incur losses this year as the price of jute dropped by at least Tk 1000-1200 a maund (40 kilograms) in the market although the production cost increased up by 20 per cent per bigha.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, jute has been cultivated this year on 76,885 hectares of land in Rajshahi, Natore, Chapainawabganj, and Naogaon districts.
The farmers this season required to irrigate their fields more than usual and make temporary water bodies using irrigation water through shallow machines for processing raw jute due to water scarcity, substantially raising their costs.
"It cost me Tk 2150 this year to produce one maund of jute while I had to sell the crop between Tk 1800 and 2000 a maund, depending on its variety," said Abdul Bari, a farmer of Charghat upazila in Rajshahi who cultivated jute on three bighas of land.
He said that he spent Tk 1675 to produce a maund of jute last year when the price was between Tk 3200 and 3500 per maund.
The farmer said that the average yield of the crop was also comparatively lower compared to the last year due to water scarcity and heat waves.
"I got 28 maunds of jute from my three bighas of land this year although it was 36 maunds last year," he added.
Expressing his frustration over the jute price, farmer Abedul Islam of Noldangar upazila in Natore district said, "The price of everything - from buying seeds to fertilizers to hire labourers - has increased while we had to spend additional Tk 3000 per bigha to make temporary water bodies using irrigation water through shallow machines for processing raw jute due to water scarcity. But, the price of jute has decreased this year."
Trader Meher Ali, who buys jute from farmers and sells it to the jute mills, said that he bought jute at a price of Tk 3000 and 35000 per maund last year.
"But, I am buying jute this season at a price of Tk 1900-2200 as the mill authorities are not paying us over this price," he said.
Mozder Hossain, deputy director of Rajshahi Agricultural Extension Department, said jute has been cultivated on more lands than the target this season.
He said that the price of jute was low as the countries that buy raw jute from Bangladesh were not buying the crop due to global recession.
"We are trying to explain things to the farmers," he said, hoping that the price would go up a little later.
Farid Uddin Khan, a professor of economics at Rajshahi University, said that the problem of getting low prices was not only for jute but for all the crops.
"The price of every crop in the country drops during the harvesting period. A group of big businessmen does it through a syndicate, ultimately leaving the farmers in dismay," he said.
He said that the government should come forward to maintain and regulate the market strictly so that farmers get a fair price of their product.

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