Madhupur pineapple prices crash as rain, flood dampen demand

Pineapple farmers in Tangail’s Madhupur upazila are selling this season’s harvest at a loss, as prices for the GI-certified fruit have collapsed at the peak of the season.

Growers and traders blame weakened demand due to continuous rainfall and flooding across the country and a surge in supply during the peak season for the price slump.

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At wholesale markets in Madhupur, known as the “pineapple capital” of the country, mid-size pineapples are fetching Tk 15 to Tk 20 each. Large ones are selling at Tk 30 to Tk 35, down by Tk 20 to Tk 30 from last season.

Growers say it costs roughly Tk 25 to Tk 30 to produce a single pineapple, factoring in seedlings, fertiliser, irrigation, labour and maintenance.

“The market is so bad that production costs are not being recovered,” said Eshak Ali, a local farmer. “If this continues, we will have no choice but to abandon pineapple cultivation.”

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The timing lines up with a punishing monsoon nationally. Flooding and heavy rainfall across the country this July have affected millions, submerging cropland, damaging roads and bridges, and disrupting transport.

Traders say the disruption in major markets is denting buyers’ purchasing capacity and appetite for the fruit in the major urban markets that absorb most of the harvest.

Chan Miah, who trades at Jalchhatra Bazar, Madhupur’s largest pineapple market, said he’s baffled by how sharply prices have fallen.

“Last season, we sold large pineapples for Tk 50 to Tk 60, but now we are not getting more than Tk 30 to Tk 35 for the same size fruit,” he said. “We don’t understand why the price has suddenly fallen like this. The flood could be a reason, or people don’t have money.”

Md Ashek Parvez, deputy director of Tangail’s Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), said heavy rain nationally has likely dampened demand for fresh fruit generally, compounding the effect of a market already strained by the floods.

“In the rain, the fruits ripen simultaneously, increasing the supply in the market. If the supply increases, the price also decreases,” he added.

Farmer Tariqul Islam made a similar point, noting that if the supply of fruit in the market decreases a little, the price will increase significantly.

Oversupply is compounding the problem. Farmers in the area have increasingly switched from bananas to pineapple in recent years, chasing the higher returns of past seasons, said Shamsul Alam, a trader at Moter Bazar.

“Now is the peak season for the fruit, so the price is low,” he added.

Farmers are calling for government intervention, including fruit preservation and processing facilities and a mechanism to guarantee fair prices, to keep the market situation stable.

Pineapple was cultivated on 7,773 hectares across Tangail in the 2024-25 season, including 6,640 hectares in Madhupur alone, yielding 2.87 lakh tonnes, according to Nargis Akhter, Tangail’s DAE sub-assistant agriculture officer.

In 2025-26, cultivation rose slightly to 7,794 hectares, yielding 2.88 lakh tonnes.

Final land and production figures for the current 2026-27 season are not yet available, Nargis added.