Alam Sarowar Tito from Kishoreganj :
The Bangladesh is the country of golden fibers. This jute was once the main cash crop. Despite the good yield of jute in the current season in Kishoreganj, the farmers are disappointed with the price. They are worried about raising jute and the price. The cost of transportation from the field to the field, the cost of removing fiber from the jute sale money is not raised by the sale of jute. The remaining half of the cost has to be paid out of pocket. As there are not many buyers of jute this year, farmers are forced to sell jute at low prices to wholesalers.
Farmers are now busy in jute cutting, jag (soaking) and washing. Some jute sales have also started. This year jute cultivation has been done in more land in Kishoreganj, due to low rainfall at the beginning of jute cultivation, cultivation started a bit late in many places but the yield has been good.
Talking to several farmers, it is known that this year, about Tk. 2000 have been spent to produce one maund of jute. Jute is being sold at Tk 1400-1500 per maund (37.300 kg) in the current market. Farmers are forced to sell jute at a loss to pay the workers’ wages.
Jute traders said that, a lot of jute bought last year at a higher price is stored in the warehouses of middlemen and seasonal businesses. Although new jute has come to the market this year, they are not fetching good prices. So the marginal traders are not getting the courage to buy jute at high prices. They also claimed that the price of jute will increase only if they get response from the mill owners and big traders.
Last Thursday morning , it was seen that the farmers were busy cutting jute, ginning, removing jute from the jute stick and drying it. From the cost of sowing jute seeds to preparing it for sale, the farmers will have to face losses if they sell jute at the current market price. According to the information of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), the target area for jute cultivation in the district this season was 17 thousand 765 hectares and the production target was 1 lakh 91 thousand 305 metric tons. However, due to the favorable weather and environment, the crop and production in the district have exceeded the target and the yield has been bumper.
The jute farmers say that like every year, they have planted jute in hostile weather. However, due to not getting the fair price of the produced jute, there is growing frustration among them. Traders are facing losses due to reduction in price of jute by syndicate. In this situation, the victims feel that the government needs to monitor the market to ensure the fair price of jute and give subsidies to jute.
Helal Uddin, a farmer of Sekandernagar village of Tarail upazila, said that planting jute on one bigha of land costs tk. 14000 to 150000, including fertilizer, water, pesticides, and the labor cost of weeding. Jute fetches 8 to 10 maunds per bigha. We have no profit as a total cost. What is the benefit of cultivating jute with difficulty? A laborer has to pay 500-600 taka per day to cut jute. As there is no water around the field, it has to be taken away and raised. It is costing 5-6 rupees per ton for transportation cost. Many people rent ponds and raise jute. All in all, farmers have faced losses in jute cultivation this year.
The jute traders have denied the allegations of the syndicate including price reduction. They say that as the mill owners are not interested in buying jute, a lot of jute bought last year at a high price is stored in the warehouses of brokers and seasonal traders. Although new jute has come to the market this year, they are not fetching good prices. So the marginal traders are not getting the courage to buy jute at high prices. They also claimed that the price of jute will increase only if they get response from the mill owners and big traders.
When contact to Abul Kalam Azad, Deputy Director (DD) of Agriculture Extension told the New Nation that, the farmers have planted more jute this year because of good prices in other years. At present there is no price of jute. Farmers are also disappointed. However, jute prices are likely to ris e in a few days, DD Azad added.
