Mahasthan in Bogura is one of the largest vegetable trading centres in northern Bangladesh. Farmers and small traders there say that, thanks to mobile phones, they now learn city market prices instantly and arrive with a realistic idea of what their produce is worth. That has strengthened their bargaining, they say, although in the end prices are still set by supply and demand.
Md Aminul Islam, 36, of Rahmatbala village in Bogura Sadar, grows radish, bottle gourd, pumpkin and yardlong beans on one acre. When he brought radishes to Mahasthan on 2 October, the price had fallen to Tk 500-600 a maund (40 kg) from about Tk 1,000 three days earlier, because of a glut and because radish grown in hot weather is not always of good quality. 'Farmers and traders both have mobile phones, so both sides get news of supply and demand,' he said.
Rabbi Molla, 25, from Uthli in Shibganj, has planted early cauliflower on about 50 decimals. Before harvesting he talks to other farmers and traders to judge the likely price. Whenever demand rises in Dhaka or other cities, he said, wholesalers pay better.
Traders say the same. Masum Islam, 27, of Bichok in Shibganj, had bought bitter gourd from farmers that day at Tk 1,600 a maund and hoped to sell at Tk 1,800. Abdul Hamid Pramanik, 48, of Lahiripara, a vegetable wholesaler for about a decade, said everyone tracks demand and supply by phone or Facebook, and farmers now get a share of any price rise.
Mahasthan has about 200 wholesale buyers and 70 commission agents. Al-Mamun, 40, owner of Maisha Traders, said competition has grown and the once-large gap between the farmer's price and the wholesale price has narrowed. Hefzul Bari Fakir, 40, who represents a wholesale house in Mirpur, Dhaka, said he gets Dhaka's demand and price guidance by phone every morning before buying, but cannot always buy at those prices when supply swings.
Vegetables are perishable. Experts estimate that about 30 per cent of the vegetables grown spoil before they reach consumers, and quicker price information that helps farmers and traders sell sooner is expected to reduce that waste.
Photo: Nahid Hossain / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Samakal
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