Bilati gab, commonly known simply as "gab", is a traditional fruit of Jhalakathi and is well liked locally. It looks rather like an apple, with a light brown, hairy skin and light cream-coloured flesh, and tastes sweet. It grows untended in rural areas. After meeting local demand it is supplied to various parts of the country. It is rich in calcium and iron, which is good for pregnant women, and ripens towards the end of the month of Asharh.

A gab tree bears red fruit weighing 300 grams once it is five years old, according to local information. Wholesalers collect the fruit from villages after announcing it by loudspeaker, buying 20 bilati gab for Tk 80–100 depending on size. They send it every day by passenger transport to different parts of the country, especially Dhaka, Chattogram, Cumilla and Sylhet.

Trader Saiful Islam has set up a depot in the Narikel Baria club area of Rajapur upazila. He collects gab from villages and sells it to wholesaler Khalil Howlader, with 10–12 others helping him collect and pack the fruit this season.

Khalil Howlader said gab is collected from nearby areas after loudspeaker announcements, paying Tk 4–5 a piece depending on size. At the depot it is washed in a nearby pond, which makes it shine, and then packed in plastic crates wrapped in banana leaves.

He said the fruit goes by passenger transport to wholesale agents in Dhaka, Chattogram, Cumilla, Sylhet and other big cities. They sell it by the kilogram and send the money due. The trade runs in Asharh and Shrabon, and other goods are traded the same way at other times of the year.

Locals say the ripe gab season lasts the two months of Asharh and Shrabon, when the district's markets are filled with the fruit's smell. Traders buy it wholesale from homes and from markets including Jhalakathi's Boro Bazar, Chandkathi Bazar, College Mor, Kathpatti, Rajapur's Bagri Bazar, Sadar Bazar, Putiakhali, Lebubunia Bazar, Pakapul Bazar, Galua Bazar, Nalbunia Bazar, Fakirer Hat, Charakhalir Hat, Badurtala Hat, Kachari Barir Hat, Balarjor Hat, Gazir Hat, Parer Hat and Bypass Mor Bazar, and supply it commercially to towns and ports around the country.

Majid, Altaf and Sultan of Kistakathi village said bilati gab trees need no sowing, planting or care. Fruit falls from the trees and is spread by birds that feed on it. Because it is tasty and free of chemicals, demand is high, and it is now served to guests as well. Everyone likes this nutritious fruit, free of adulteration and formalin.

Wholesale gab traders Shahidul Islam of Galua Bazar in Rajapur and Harun Sardar of Pakapul Bazar said one kuri (20) of ripe gab can be bought for Tk 80–100 depending on size at the district's markets. At the wholesale depots 100 gab sell for Tk 700–800, and city agents sell each gab to consumers at Tk 10–12.

Monirul Islam, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Jhalakathi, said: "The soil here is very fertile, so gab yields well along with all other fruit. There is a bumper crop of gab in this region every year. After meeting local demand it is now supplied commercially to different parts of the country."

Dr Mehedi Hasan Sani, resident medical officer at Jhalakathi Sadar Hospital, said: "Gab is a native fruit free of formalin and adulteration. It is as tasty as it is nutritious."

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