The vegetable growers in Jhenaidah have been frustrated when the prices of their produced fallen sharp in the market. The farmers are now not in a position even to realize their production cost with the sale proceeds of the same even in Ramadan, said the farmers. The prices of onion and garlic has fallen in the market in a week.
The farmers said, ignoring the challenges of the prolonged drought in past few months they have produced the vegetables with the irrigation water against huge money from the underground water level. But they are incurring loss in the market.
When this correspondent on Friday visited some vegetable markets in Sailkupa and Jhenaidah Sadar upazila talked to a number of vegetable growers. The growers said, they are compelled to sale the vegetables in whole sale market at an bellow prices.
They said, they have been selling each kilogram of egg plant at Taka si0x to seven, cucumber at taka six, bitter gourd Taka ten and potol (gourd) at Taka seven. Further, the prices of spinac, basil, sweet pumpkin, pumpkin etc fallen sharp.
A farmer of Seikhpara vegetable market Alauddin Ahmed said, they have to spend at least Taka 15 to produce each kilogram of egg plant, Taka 12 for cucumber and Taka 13 for each kilogram of bitter gourd, while selling proceeds has disheartened them as they are even not recover the loan money as the rate was very poor in the market. Although the price hike in onion nad garlic was reported elsewhere in the country, it has fallen in Jhenaidah market. Each maund (40 kilogram) of onion is selling between Taka 1,000 and 1,050 as against Taka 1,200 a few days back.
The price of the spice once may fall in the market within a week, the vendors assumed. Each kilogram of onion is selling in Jhenaidah market between Taka 30 and 35, while the garlic at Taka 90 to 100 now.
The farmer said, many farmers like him had borrowed money from two money lending organizations for producing the vegetables in the season.
Upazila agriculture officer of the department of agriculture extension in Jhenaidah Khan Mohammad Maniruzzaman when contacted admitted the loss of the farmers following price falls said, the soil of the area was suitable for vegetables and other crops productions. But the interest of the farmers should be protected from the government side, DAE official said.
In the other hand each and every type of fish has almost disappeared in the market. The people have been deprived off the local fishes, while the price of the carp and other hybrid varieties are also dead here. The smaller size of carp varieties of fishes are sold for at least Taka 200 a kilogram.
The fishermen in the locality have blamed drying up of river s and water bodies in the season due ti severe drought like weather, they said.
The price of beef and broiler has shoot up in the market. Each kilogram of beef was increased at Taka 400 as against Taka 350, while the broiler chickens are sold at Taka 150 a kilogram as against Taka 130 a few days back.
As the prices of all sorts of poultry feeds and minor chickens went higher, the production cost was higher in the season, the farmers said.
