Tk 50 Lakh of Bananas Sold Daily at Joypurhat's Durgadaha Market, Yet Falling Prices Worry Farmers

The Durgadaha banana market in Joypurhat Sadar upazila comes alive from dawn. In one place there are rows of banana piles, in another the calls of bargaining, and elsewhere preparations to load bananas onto trucks. Some have brought green bananas, others ripe ones. At this market, which runs until evening, bananas worth about Tk 50 lakh are sold every day.

The market sits on about one and three-quarter bighas of land in the Durgadaha area of the Sadar upazila. Farmers bring bananas to the market from various parts of Joypurhat and from neighbouring districts as well. Besides local wholesalers, traders from different parts of the country buy the bananas and carry them to their destinations by truck, pickup and other vehicles. There is a rule for buying bananas at the market: each buyer must purchase a minimum of 100 bananas.

Local trader Saiful Islam says wholesalers buy bananas from farmers' gardens at dawn and bring them to the market, and farmers themselves also bring bananas. Every day, bananas leave this market for various regions of the country on 40 to 50 trucks.

Shah Alam, acting chairman of Vadsa Union Parishad, says the Durgadaha market is very old. It was once a general market. Banana-only trading began there 40 to 45 years ago, and that is how it still runs.

Durgadaha's bananas go to Dhaka, Noakhali, Chattogram, Cox's Bazar and various districts of the northern region. According to the agriculture department, bananas were cultivated on about 700 hectares of land in Joypurhat district this year. With a good yield, farmers' interest in banana cultivation has grown.

The Sagar, Malbhog and Champa varieties are traded at the Durgadaha market, with Champa the most common, trader Belal Hossain says. He says not only farmers and traders but also labourers, transport drivers, loading and unloading workers and commission agents earn their living from this market.

Monju Alam Sarker, deputy director of the Joypurhat Department of Agricultural Extension, says that with the banana market established at Durgadaha, local farmers and traders can market their produce easily. The department regularly provides advice and necessary support to increase production and to farm by modern methods, he says.

Behind the market's busy picture, however, farmers have worries too. Although supply and trading in the market have increased, the expected price is not always available. Prices fall within days or weeks. After production and transport costs, very little profit remains.

Farmer Ohidul Islam of Bara Majhipara in Joypurhat Sadar upazila sold 100 bananas for Tk 400 only 10 days ago. On 8 November he had to sell the same bananas for Tk 250 — a fall of 37.5 percent in 10 days. He says that with supply high, he does not find wholesalers as expected even after bringing bananas to the market, and he is struggling to recover production costs.

Amjad Hossain of Pakurtali village in the upazila is cultivating bananas this year on 25 bighas of leased land. His cost per bigha for the lease and production is Tk 60,000, putting his total cost at about Tk 15 lakh. So far this year he has sold bananas worth about Tk 2 lakh, though more bananas are still on the trees.

Although the scale of trading has grown, the market's space has not. Transport suffers the most from this. Trader Niranjan Chandra of Nalukabari village in Badalgachhi upazila of Naogaon complains that wholesalers come here from far away to buy bananas, but because the space is small, trucks, three-wheelers and pickups cannot enter properly, and time is wasted in loading, unloading and transport. In his view, business would grow further if the market's area were increased and arrangements made suitable for vehicle movement.

Mehdi Hasan, Joypurhat's agricultural marketing officer, comments that traders' suffering is increasing because the market's infrastructure has not developed in proportion to its large commercial activity. By his calculation, bananas worth an average of Tk 48 to 50 lakh are bought and sold at the Durgadaha market every day.

Joypurhat Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mahmudul Hasan says it is true that the Durgadaha market's space is small. Land is being searched for to expand the market, he says.