Dates costing from Tk 200 to Tk 1,600 a kg, depending on quality, are on the market. More than 50 varieties and grades of dates are being sold at the wholesale fruit market in the Fruitmandi Railway Men's Market in Chattogram city. Among them, the price of the Zahedi variety, known as the "cheap" date, has risen the most.

Fifteen days ago a 10 kg pack of Zahedi dates sold for Tk 1,900. The same dates now sell for up to Tk 2,600. Zahedi dates are called "cheap" because they cost less than other dates, and they are eaten by people on low and lower-middle incomes.

Traders say the ship that sank at sea off Thailand was also carrying dates, and the containers of dates sank with it, most of them cheap dates. But all other kinds of dates are cheaper than last year, and supply in the market is normal.

On 7 February the container ship MV Siloyed Ark sank in the Andaman Sea near Phuket, Thailand. The ship was on its way from Malaysia to Chattogram port.

Date traders in Chattogram claim the MV Siloyed Ark was carrying about 150 containers of dates.

According to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), dates are imported from several countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Tunisia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and China. Small quantities are also brought in from the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia by enthusiasts.

NBR data show that from 1 July of the current fiscal year to 16 February, 51,584 tonnes of fresh dates were imported, against 44,028 tonnes in the same period of the last fiscal year, 7,556 tonnes more than last year. In the month from 17 January to 16 February this year, 25,744 tonnes of fresh dates were imported.

Chattogram's Fruitmandi Railway Men's Market is famous for dates, sold there both wholesale and retail. Many traders in the market import dates directly, while others buy from importers and sell in their shops. Big traders from distant districts also source dates from the importers.

A visit on Wednesday evening (18 February) found every shop in the market, from top to bottom, packed with dates. With Ramadan about to begin, many had come to Fruitmandi to buy dates to eat at iftar at home.

Ashraf Hossain of the Halishahar area, who had come to buy dates, told Jago News: "Dates are selling in retail shops at Tk 1,200, Tk 1,500 and Tk 1,700 a kg. Dates that cost Tk 1,700 in a retail shop can be bought at Fruitmandi for Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,200 a kg. So I buy dates from Fruitmandi every year."

Maulana Alauddin had come from Rangunia. "I have come to buy dates for our madrasa's orphanage," he said. "A lot of dates are needed during the fasting month. Dates can be bought here much more cheaply than in our local market."

Mayeda Fruits in Fruitmandi imports dates directly and also sells them wholesale and retail through its own shop.

The firm's owner, Md Jahed, told Jago News: "There are plenty of dates on the market, and imports have been good. The prices of almost all kinds of dates are lower than last year. But the price of Zahedi dates in sacks has gone up."

"A lot of Zahedi dates were on the ship that sank in the Andaman," Jahed said. "Because they come packed sticky in sacks, they are imported at the last moment to be brought to market and sold quickly. But as they did not reach the market at the peak time before Ramadan, their price has risen abnormally. Zahedi dates that were Tk 190 last week are now Tk 260, meaning a 10 kg pack has gone up by as much as Tk 700. Likewise, Zahedi dates in sacks were Tk 145 a kg and are now selling at Tk 200."

Traders said the same date comes in several qualities, and prices vary by quality. Varieties and names on the market include Ajwa, Mariam, Masdul, Safawi, Sufri, Mashruk, Mabrur, Zahedi, Dabbas, Nagal, Lulu, Saiyidi, Faridi, Rashidi, Kudri, Medjool and Sukkari.

At Fruitmandi, Saudi Ajwa dates sell at Tk 2,400 to Tk 4,000 for a 5 kg pack; Mashruk at Tk 1,400 to 1,800 for a 3 kg pack; Mabrum at Tk 3,200 to 6,500 for a 5 kg pack; Iranian Mariam at Tk 3,400 to 3,800 for a 5 kg pack; Egyptian Medjool at Tk 7,100 to Tk 8,000 for a 5 kg pack; and Dubai Medjool at Tk 6,300 to 6,500.

Good-quality, large Saudi Safawi dates sell at Tk 2,300 to 2,500 for 3 kg, and smaller ones at Tk 2,800 to 3,300 for 5 kg. Safawi is also called Kalmi. Sukkari Mufattal sells at Tk 1,700 to 1,800 for a 3 kg pack and Sukkari Rutab at Tk 1,500 for 3 kg.

Wholesale, Nagal dates sell at Tk 2,600 to 2,800 for a 10 kg pack, Dabbas at Tk 4,200 to 4,300 for a 10 kg pack and Lulu at Tk 3,400 to 3,500 for 10 kg.

Rizis dates from Iraq sell at Tk 2,200 for 10 kg; many call the Rizis variety "boroi" (jujube) dates. Algerian bunch dates sell at Tk 950 for 2 kg and Tk 2,250 for 5 kg.

Jalal Uddin of Umaiya Enterprise said: "There are various varieties of dates on the market: Mabrum, Mashruk, Mariam, Medjool, Safawi, and VIP-grade Mabrum and Medjool too. Dates come in 2 kg, 3 kg and 5 kg packs, and prices vary by quality."

Md Arman of Tuhin Enterprise said: "We have plenty of dates and are selling retail as well as wholesale. Ramadan has begun in the Arab countries. Many people here buy dates from Fruitmandi to eat at home, and others are buying in larger quantities for mosques, madrasas and orphanages. People can buy good-quality dates at Fruitmandi more cheaply than at retail prices, so sales are much higher."

Haji Tauhidul Alam, organising secretary of the Bangladesh Fresh Fruits Importers Association and general secretary of the Chattogram Fruit Traders' Association, told Jago News: "Date imports have risen this time, which is why date prices are lower than last year in both wholesale and retail markets. But last week a ship that sank at sea off Thailand was bringing 150 containers of dates to Bangladesh. Because it happened right at the start of Ramadan and those dates did not reach the market, there has been some effect: the price of cheap dates has risen a little. But other kinds of dates have not gone up."

"Almost all dates are cheaper this year than last year," he said. "Dates that sold for Tk 3,000 last year are selling for Tk 2,700 to 2,800 this year. Only cheap dates have risen, because of short supply."

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