& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Growers worried as jute prices continue to dip

Poor rotting in scanty water adds to situation

Star National Desk
Jute farmers in several districts are worried due to low prices of the cash crop in the current season.
Good yield of jute fails to make the growers in Thakurgaon and Panchagarh happy as the prices see a declining trend, reports our Thakurgaon correspondent.
Early this season jute sold for Tk 1100 to 1300 per maund but now it is selling for Tk 900 to 1050 in the local markets.
Visiting different jute markets in Thakurgaon and Panchagarh during the last couple of days, this correspondent found many farm- ers selling their raw jute for low prices as they have to manage aman cultivation cost and meet up family expenses.
In Thakurgaon, 1 lakh 9 thousand and 215 bales of raw jute was produced on 10,115 hectares of land, said sources of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE).
In Panchagarh, farmers cultivated jute on 9,119 hectares and produced 1 lakh 5 thousand and 183 bales of raw jute.
"I brought ten maunds of jute for sale at Sakoya Haat last Thursday. But I sold those at Tk 930 a maund which is below my production cost. I had to sell jute
for low price as I badly needed money for aman cultivation and meet up family expenses," said Shamsujjoha, 50, a farmer of Sakoa village under Boda upazila in Panchagarh.
If the growers don't get fair price from jute this year, many of them will lose interest in farming jute in the next season, he said.
Market sources alleged that the jute growers are being badly affected as the local traders formed syndicate easily because of small number of buyers locally and arbitrarily reduced the jute prices.
They can get the chance of reducing market price as the government is yet to fix
procurement price of jute, sources said.
Our Jessore Correspondent adds: Farmers in the district are not getting expected prices for jute as the quality of the cash crop decreased due to rotting the fibre in insufficient water.
"Usually farmers can rot their jute anywhere near their houses as all the water bodies, low lands and ponds remain full of water in the rainy season. But this season saw insufficient rainfall and so, water bodies and low lands are mostly dry," said Afsar Ali of Patibila village under Sadar upazila.
Jessore Air Force Met Office recorded 212 millimetres of rainfall in June and 211 millimetres in July this year. Last year the rainfall was 253 millimetres in June and 304 millimetres in July.
"We are not getting good price for our jute fibre as it was rotted in insufficient water. Now low quality jute is selling at Tk 700/800 per maund which is less than the production cost," said Mukul Khandakar of Shibobas village under Sharsa upazila in Jessore.
Now good quality jute is selling for Tk 1000 to Tk 1050 in the local markets, he added.
In the current year jute was cultivated on 25 thousand 115 hectares of land in Jessore, which is 2 thousand 654 hectares less than the target, DAE sources said.