Most of the marginal and small farmers are selling jute ahead of the Eid festival and joining the masses at the markets to buy new clothes and other goods for their dear ones.

This year, the price they are getting for their jute produce is better than before.

Alef Uddin, 38, a small farmer of Haragachh of Kaunia upazila, said he purchased a new silk sari at Tk 1200 for his wife, a three piece suit at Tk 900 for his school-going daughter and a shirt and trouser at Tk 700 for his son and a panjabi at Tk 450 for himself by selling only two maunds of jute. A maund is equal to 37.5 kg.

"We are happy with the current price of jute. We never got such a price at the beginning of any season in the last decade," said Moinul Islam of Tapadhan under Rangpur Sadar upazila.

Tossa variety of jute is selling at Tk 1,700-1,750 per maund while the local variety of jute is selling atTk 1,500-1,550 per maund in the northern districts. In August last year, jute was sold at Tk 1300-1350 per maund but it soared up to Tk

2500-2600 in December.

Now the prices of jute are unusually high but it is likely to fall soon when the big farmers start selling their jute in the markets, said jute merchants in the northern districts.

Big farmers are not willing to sell jute right now, hoping they would get Tk 2700 per mound in future as they earned good profit by selling at the end of the season last year, said Ratan Saha, a jute merchant in Baderganj upazila of Rangpur district.

"Compared to demand, supply of jute in the markets is scanty. That is why price of jute is higher at beginning of the season,” he said.

Several jute merchants said smuggling of jute to India is the cause of its price hike this year.

Kalim Udddin, one of the directors of J&J Jute Mills in Rangpur, said jute is being smuggled to India through Moghalhat in Lalmonirhat, Bhurungamari in Kurigram and Chilahati in Dinajpur districts.

Many of the jute merchants have been issued Cash Credit (CC) loan but did not use it because of the high rate of jute in the markets.

"We dare not use CC loan money for purchasing jute lest its price falls,” said Arup Kumar Roy, another director of J&J Jute Mills in Rangpur.

Managing director of Ajax Jute Mill in Khulna, Kausar Zaman Babla said if the government does not take measures to stop jute smuggling to India most of the local jute mills will suffer huge loss.

Prices of jute in India are higher this year and that is why jute is being smuggled to India, he added.

Ajax Jute Mill has a purchasing centre at Mahiganj in Rangpur.

Officials of Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) did not agree that jute is being smuggled to India. Rather they showed increase of use of jute as the cause of its price hike in local markets.

According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), about 2 lakh hectares of land were brought under jute cultivation this season in Rajshahi division against the target of 1.83 lakh hectares.

DAE also said fair price of jute last year encouraged the farmers of the region to increase cultivation this year.