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January last year, were able to sell their produce before the crisis hit the market, he said.

“Livelihood of over 50,000 locals involved in the cultivation, marketing and transportation of the fruit have been badly affected due to the decline in the banana market,” he added.

Bananas produced in the upazila are sold both directly from the plantations and also from a large market situated at Jalchhatra area in Madhupur.

Amir Ali, convenor of Truck Drivers Union in Jalchhatra, said normally on Fridays around 100 to 150 trucks from the area carry bananas to different parts of the country. Now, only four to five are going to adjacent districts with bananas.

According to the agriculture department in Madhupur, different varieties of banana including sobri and sagar were cultivated on 10,000 acres of lands in around 40 villages in the upazila this season.

Mahmudul Hasan, upazila agriculture officer, pointed out that the fruit cannot be preserved in cold stores.

In developed countries, they make banana paste and use it in food processing industries. But, such businesses have not developed here, he said.

Bananas, grown in the country, are also not exported to the European and American markets as qualities at cultivation stage cannot not be ensured, he added.

Mahmudul observed that the demand for bananas in the cities decreased because the fruit’s main consumers -- students and factory workers, living in hostels and lodgings -- left for their villages after the shutdown.