Modhupur pineapple yield marks fall

Pineapples stacked on the Dhaka-Tangail highway at Modhupur for sale. PHOTO: STAR

Beside, pineapple farmers and wholesale traders in Madhupur region have become captive in the hands of some middlemen, producers said.

Tangail Agriculture Extension Department (AED) officials said this year the production declined to about 1,04,000 tonnes from last year's 1,50,000 tonnes.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

About 20,000 acres of land were brought under pineapple cultivation in Madhupur, Ghatail and Sakhipur upazillas of Tangail district and Phoolbaria and upazillas of Mymensingh district this year. Of those, 11,000 acres were in Madhupur upazila, known for producing very tasty Honeyqueen, Giantque and Ghorashal varieties of sweet pineapple.

Huge quantities were produced also at Telki, Sholakuri, Rashulpur, Amritara, Aushnara, Beribaid and Kakraid areas in the upazila.

But the pineapple farmers in this area are passing a hard time now. Many of the farmers have lost their interest in growing pineapple as prices are not fair compared to investments, they said.

Some owners of pineapple orchards said that they could not earn the desired amount of money from the fruit as they had to sell their gardens at throwaway prices during the budding stage.

They said the cost of production was around Tk 1.5 per piece. They are selling those to merchants at almost the same price.

They said they cannot transport their pineapples to Dhaka and other districts because of poor transportation system.

After harvest, they have to carry the products to Madhupur Sadar, Pakutia, Jalchhatra, Rashulpur and Gabtoli markets by rickshaw vans and such other transports through a 12- kilometer damaged and muddy road. This increases the transport cost.

On the other hand, there is no place designated for pineapple markets. So they have to sell those at temporary markets along roads in Madhupur, Jalchhatra, Rashulpur, and Pakutia, which create traffic jam on the Tangail-Mymensingh highway.

The farmers have no storage facilities to preserve pineapple. The fruit should be consumed within four days of plucking, they said.

Talking to this correspondent, pineapple trader Abdul Barek in Baribaid in Madhupur upazila said, "Huge quantities of pineapple are damaged every year in absence of preservation facilities and due to bad communication system."

Many of the pineapple farmers in Madhupur are now showing interest for banana farming as pineapple costs more.

Pineapple merchants said they are also captive in the hands of local truck workers union. A truck can not enter Madhupur region without a slip issued by the local union. Pineapple merchants have to pay between Tk. 1,000 and Tk 1,500 per slip, it is alleged.