As the monsoon ends, the river and canal markets of the south are busy with hog plum, known locally as amra. A photo story by Prothom Alo photographer Saiyan captures the seasonal trade at the wholesale stalls of Jhalokati and Pirojpur.
Before dawn, growers pick tree-ripened fruit in their orchards and bring it to market in small boats. Laden boats pull in one after another along the canal, and the calls of buyers and sellers begin. Farmers and workers hurry to unload the fruit into crates and carry it up to the stalls.
At the stalls there is haggling and weighing on digital scales. Workers sort the heaped fruit on the floor by size and quality into separate crates, then pack it into sacks for the long journey and stack them to wait for the trucks.
At the height of the season the workers barely pause; some run with bamboo baskets of fruit on their heads. Through the wholesalers, the hog plums travel by road to Dhaka, Chattogram and other parts of the country.
The markets at Binoykathi and Himanandakathi in Jhalokati and at Atghar, Jindakathi and Adamkathi in Nesarabad upazila, Pirojpur, are crowded with growers, wholesalers and workers. Depending on size and quality, a maund of hog plums sells for Tk 900 to 1,200.
Photographs: Saiyan, Prothom Alo. The original photo story is on Prothom Alo's website.
Photo: Francisco Manuel Blanco / Wikimedia Commons (public domain); a 19th-century botanical plate of the hog plum (Spondias dulcis).
Source: Prothom Alo
Comments
(0)