The hog plum (amra) markets of Jhalokathi are busy, with the floating market at Bhimruli full of fresh fruit, and cultivation in the district is growing because it pays better than other crops, BSS reports.
Abdullah Al Mamun, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in the district, said hog plum was grown on 605 hectares in the four upazilas this year, producing 4,590 tonnes worth about Tk 12 crore at current prices. In 2022-23, 602 hectares produced 4,070 tonnes, so in two years the area grew by three hectares and output by 520 tonnes.
Hog plum from the Barishal region is in demand nationwide, and most of it comes from Jhalokathi. The biggest market is the floating market at Bhimruli village, which supplies Dhaka and the rest of the country. Traders from around the country are paying Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,600 a maund depending on size and colour.
Grower Animesh Halder has hog plum on 6 bighas and expects each tree to yield Tk 4,000 worth of fruit, about Tk 600,000 in all. Bhabendranath Halder, a former chairman of Kirtipasha union, told BSS that guava yields were poor this year for lack of rain and anthracnose (black spot) had appeared; ripe guava must be picked daily, a labourer costs Tk 700 a day, but a day's picking sells for Tk 400.
Hog plum pays better, he says: it does not need picking every day, and once ripe two labourers can clear 10 to 12 trees in a day. Swarupkathi trader Noman Khan said yields were fairly good and that traders buy from growers and ship the fruit to Dhaka.
Photo: Francisco Manuel Blanco / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Source: BSS
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