The price of green chilli doubled in local markets in the district yesterday, two days ahead of the holy month of Ramadan. One kg of green chilli, which costTk 30-32 till Saturday, now costs Tk 60-65. Both growers and traders have increased the price, blaming inadequate supply.

Ashraful Islam, 45, a customer from Thana Road in the town, said, "I bought one kg of green chilli at Tk 31 from Goshala Bazar, the biggest vegetable market in the district, on Saturday morning. Its price has doubled in the same market today (Sunday) morning."

Noor Islam Bepari, 52, a vegetable retailer, said they

are selling green chilli at high price because they buy it at high rate from the growers. “There was large supply of green chilli in the market on Saturday, but supply has decreased today (Sunday),” he added.

"If we get less supply of green chilli during Ramadan, of course its price will increase," said vegetable trader Shamsul Islam.

Chilli grower Sirajul Islam, 48, of Bara Kamlabari village under Aditmari upzaila, said a huge quantity of green chilli was damaged by a hailstorm a month ago, so they are getting less production. "As we got less production of green chilli, supply is low in the local market," he said, adding

they have been selling green chilli at Tk 40-42 to the middlemen since yesterday morning.

"I got 20 maunds of green chilli from one bigha of land last year, but 1 got only 11 maunds from same area this year due to the damage caused by hailstorm," said chilli grower Tarani Kanata Barmon,55, of the same village.

Yasin Ali, 62, a chilli grower at Falimari village, said many growers are not harvesting chilli from their fields now. They will harvest it during Ramadan for get-ting windfall profit. "Ramadan brings high demand for green chilli, so we get additional earning from selling it in the market

at that time," he said.

Sources in the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Lalmonirhat said chilli has been cultivated on 3,000 acres of land in five upazilas of the district Bara Kamlabari, Falimari, Hajiganj, Bhelabari, Chandonpat, Mogholhat, Karnapur, Sonahat, Chandrapur, Kamlabari, Palashi, Kakina and Chaparhat villages are well known for farming green chilli.

Safayet Hossain, deputy director of Lalmonirhat DAE, said a huge quantity of green chilli at some villages was damaged due to hailstorm a month back, so production has been less than that of last year.