Poor post-harvest management is causing huge losses to jackfruit growers and traders as nearly 0.119 million tonnes of the national fruit go to waste per annum, research reveals.
Experts and traders said Tk 500 million could have been saved if the post-harvest loss is minimised.
They also emphasised the importance of diversifying products to ensure maximum use of the national fruit to reap proper benefits.
This year the country expects a bumper output of the tropical fruit due to favourable weather condition.
Jackfruit production has increased significantly in the areas where its commercial farming is much popular.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) officials said they expect bumper production of jackfruit at Savar in Dhaka, Bhaluka in Mymensingh, Bhawal and Madhupur Garh in Tangail and Gazipur, Narsingdi, Dinajpur, Rangpur, hilly areas in greater Sylhet and Chittagong.
DAE's horticulture wing data showed that the country produced a record of 0.47 million tonnes of jackfruit last year. This year the production target has been fixed at 0.475 million tonnes.
Director of horticulture wing Md Rafiqul Hasan told the FE that the target for jackfruit gardening was set at 26,720 hectares of land last year which has increased to 27,000 hectares this year.
Rain has helped increase production of jackfruit this year, he said, adding that in many places, jackfruits have matured and started arriving in city markets.
However, a research done by Post Harvest Technology Division under Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) showed that post-harvest loss for jackfruit is 25.44 per cent from growers' end to consumers' level.
The research was conducted in between 2011 and 2014, said Mainuddin Mollah, senior scientific officer of post harvest technology division.
He attributed lack of proper storage and transport facility to huge losses, saying that jackfruits have nutritional value while its prices are cheaper than that of other fruits.
"But nutrition is not reaching the consumers properly due to post-harvest loss," he said.
According to BARI and DAE data, nearly 0.119 million tonnes (approximately 12.0 million pieces) of jackfruits were perished last year due to poor post-harvest management.
Bangladesh Fruits, Vegetables and Allied Products Exporters Association president S M Jahangir said the value of these of jackfruits was minimum Tk 500 million at growers' end.
He said the country exports fruits worth Tk 4.5 billion per year of which jackfruits comprise more than 35 per cent.
A jackfruit garden owner in Bishmile area adjacent to Jahangirnagar University Md Shawkat Ali told the FE that they incur huge losses every year for 'crop damage'.
He said the situation gets worse when fruits start ripening at a time as it takes one to two weeks to sell fruits.
Proprietor of Amena Traders at Karwan Bazar in the city Md Amir Hossain said if jackfruit ripens, it should be sold within two or three days or it would be wasted.
He said as jackfruits are brought to city by trucks and pickups from distant places, some fruits are wasted for poor management. "Last year I incurred a loss of Tk 50,000 due to rotten jackfruits."
Farm economist ASM Golam Hafeez Kennedy said product diversification is very important to minimise jackfruit post-harvest loss.
Jam, jelly, chips can easily be made from jackfruits which also could be exported, he said, adding that agro processors should come forward to manufacture jackfruit-made food items.
He also pointed out that export of both raw and processed agro items is increasing which is a good sign for the farm economy.
He said processing of products from agro produce can also help the farmers get better prices.
However, the ministry of agriculture (MoA) has recently decided to support the private sector for processing chips from jackfruits, an official told the FE.
He said agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury asked the DAE, Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM) and Hortex Foundation to work together to promote the new product.
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