By Dr Aynal Haque
RAJSHAHI, Feb 24, 2021 (BSS) – Current market price of jute has made the
farmers happy because they never thought about the unprecedented price of the
cash crop in the region.
At present, jute fiber is being sold at Taka 5,200 to 6,000 per mound at
different hats and bazaars everywhere in the region creating a hope of
getting back in the golden era of the cash crop in near future.
Market price of jute was Taka 1,600 to 1,800 per mound during the initial
stage of harvesting and the price has stood to around Taka 6,000 at present
which is the highest ever in the country’s history, said Imran Ali, 54, a
farmer of Borgachhi village under Paba Upazila.
Farmers are very much happy after getting excellent yield and price, he
added.
“I had cultivated jute on seven bighas of land and attained good yield
because of suitable climate condition,” Ali said, adding he sold most of his
produced jute initially in fear of price declining.
But, currently, the price has become tripled compared to the initial price.
None have thought about the present soaring price, he said.
Marjidul Sarker, a farmer of Yusufpur village under Charghat Upazila, said
he had cultivated jute on two bighas of land and he sold his harvested jute
at Taka 5,200 to Taka 5,500 per mound on an average.
Mokbul Hossain, another farmer of Khorda Gobindapur village, is now happy
as he reaped a better price of his cash crop than that of the previous time.
Alamgir Hossain of Aloknagar village under Bagmara Upazila has gained
profit as he got good jute yield from his farm field and expected market
price.
Jute trader Saidur Rahman at Naohata Bazar said jute was sold at Taka 1,400
to 2,000 per mound in the previous seasons.
He said the price may further rise mentioning that the price has hiked
because of escalating demand of jute fiber in both domestic and global
markets.
This year, he’s seeing the highest rate of jute.
Kazi Saidur Rahman, Assistant Director of Export Promotion Bureau in
Rajshahi, said the volume of jute export is rising gradually.
Referring to the official records, he said jute worth over 2.34 crore US
Dollar has been exported from Rajshahi in 2019-2020 fiscal year.
Increased farming of jute could revive the past glory of the golden fibre
ushering a new era in the economy as well as saving the environment and soil
health from further degradation.
Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) had set a target of producing
around 1.41 lakh tonnes of jute from 1.19 lakh hectares of lands in all eight
districts under Rajshahi division during this harvesting season.
But, amazingly, the farmers have harvested around 2.91 tonnes of jute from
1.12 lakh hectares of land in the division, said Sirajul Islam, Additional
Director of DAE, adding around 1.50 lakh tonnes of more jute were produced
against the target.
He said jute’s golden era has started returning back. The role of private
jute mills and government’s declaration about the mandatory use of jute bags
in packaging public food grains boosted jute cultivation, he added. Necessary
measures are being taken for making the farmers habituated in promoting high
yielding jute varieties for boosting its production.
Agriculturist Islam said jute farming has started getting a brighter
dimension through increasing its production and adopting other effective
measures.
In order to achieve a thriving jute sector, it is crucial to implement the
mandatory Jute Packaging Act of 2010, said Tonmoy Saynal, divisional
coordinator of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association.
District administrations and others concerned should work together for
successful implementation of the law strictly, he said.