Bhaluka, the red-soil upland at the southern tip of Mymensingh, has produced a lot of jackfruit this year. The sweet, juicy fruit, distinctive in taste and smell, is selling very cheaply. Wholesalers buy it cheap and sell at a profit, but farmers and traders are not making the profits they hoped for, because with no processing plant a large amount of jackfruit is rotting for lack of storage.

Locals say jackfruit markets have sprung up at the Seedstore bus stand, Angargara Bazar, Uthura Mahar Bazar, Batajor, Kachina, Bhaluka old bus stand, Mallikbari, Chamiadi, Rajoi, Panashail, Keyadi, Bharadoba bus stand, Paruldia, Ashka, Masterbari and elsewhere in the upazila. Every day farmers bring jackfruit by push cart, rickshaw, auto-rickshaw, bullock and buffalo cart, pickup and other vehicles. From morning to evening farmers, commission agents and wholesalers from Dhaka and other districts and upazilas buy and sell. But with no cold store or fruit storage in Bhaluka, farmers and traders are in trouble.

At several markets, farmers were bringing jackfruit by auto-rickshaw, van or pickup to the commission agents, who sort small and large fruit and buy them at different prices. Local wholesalers and those from other parts of the country then load trucks with the cheap fruit. Much jackfruit has rotted for lack of proper storage, and much more is close to rotting.

Local farmer Zahirul Islam, selling jackfruit at Seedstore Bazar, told Jago News: "I don't take much care of the jackfruit trees, yet my 24 trees have borne plenty of fruit. Most of it ripened, so I sold it to wholesalers, because the jackfruit is rotting as I cannot store it."

Afsar Ali said: "I have sold 260 jackfruit in the last three days. We have to take whatever price the agents or wholesalers give. Jackfruit growers and buyers lose out, while the agents and wholesalers profit."

Teacher Jasim Uddin, a resident of the Seedstore area, demanded a government-run jackfruit processing plant. "Because there is no way to store this tasty, highly perishable fruit, farmers are forced to sell it very cheaply. If there were a processing plant in the upazila, producers would get a fair price, buyers and sellers would both benefit, and many would take up commercial jackfruit farming."

Tofayel Ibne Jamal, a commission agent at Seedstore Bazar, said jackfruit grown in the upazila is sold to wholesalers from Dhaka, Cumilla, Sylhet, Noakhali, Patuakhali, Lakshmipur, Munshiganj, Sunamganj, Narayanganj, Brahmanbaria and Kishoreganj. "I have been trading jackfruit for 27 years and have sold more than two to two and a half lakh jackfruit each season. I think I will reach that this time too."

Asked about buying cheaply from producers and selling dearer to other wholesalers, he said: "Jackfruit bought unripe ripens within a few days, and ripe fruit starts rotting if kept a little longer. So we buy it cheaply from farmers and sell it at a small profit to wholesalers from far away before it ripens."

Another commission agent, Mohammad Habibur Rahman Habi, said: "Jackfruit worth half a crore taka is sold at this market every day. But for lack of storage, jackfruit worth lakhs of taka rots in this area every year. If a processing plant were set up, jackfruit could be stored for a long time and local farmers and agents would get fair prices."

Md Khorshedullah, a wholesaler from Sylhet, said: "The jackfruit grown in this upazila's red soil tastes very good. There is huge demand for these sweet, juicy fruit, so I take 5–6 truckloads from here every week. But after truck transport and labour costs, it is not possible to make much profit."

According to the local agriculture department, jackfruit was grown on 2,324 hectares in Mymensingh this year, producing 185,960 tonnes. Of this, Bhaluka had 385 hectares, producing 43,900 tonnes. The upazila's red soil gives its jackfruit a unique taste and smell.

Upazila agriculture officer Nusrat Jaman said: "We are trying to find ways of making products such as jelly and chips from jackfruit. That will get farmers extra prices, and many will become interested in growing jackfruit commercially."

Dr Nasrin Akter Banu, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Mymensingh, told Jago News that jackfruit producers are forced to sell at whatever price wholesalers set, and they are deprived of fair prices because the fruit is highly perishable. If a government jackfruit processing plant is built, producers will get fair prices and the fruit can be stored for a long time. "We have informed senior officials about the matter."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.