Avocado, rambutan and grapes are usually thought of as foreign fruits, imported year-round to meet demand in Bangladesh. Yet these exotic fruits are now being grown in the silt soils of the country itself. In various parts of Jhenaidah, a fertile district in the south-west, farmers are cultivating rambutan, avocado and grapes, and after meeting local demand the fruit is being sold in Dhaka, Chattogram and other cities.

This year grape cultivation has been striking in Kaliganj, Kotchandpur, Maheshpur, Harinakunda and Sadar upazilas. Farmers who started growing grapes as a hobby are turning to commercial cultivation after good yields, and some have had bumper crops of grapes and avocado even on fallow land. Farmers say they began growing these fruits as an experiment, but strong harvests within a year have opened up new prospects.

Shahinur Rahman, an agricultural entrepreneur from Chachra village in Kaliganj upazila, planted avocado on 3 bighas of land. About five years after planting he has had an excellent harvest, and his trees are now hung with clusters of fruit.

"In 2019 I brought avocado saplings from Thailand through an agriculture officer and planted them in my orchard. At first people laughed at me. But after five years my trees bore their first fruit. Production was low in the first year. This year the yield has been excellent, and every tree is carrying plenty of avocados," he said.

"Demand for avocado is not high in the local market, but it is huge in restaurants in big cities including Dhaka and Chattogram. In the local market it sells for Tk 500–600 a kg, but Jhenaidah avocados can be sold to traders from Dhaka and Chattogram at an average of Tk 800 a kg," he added.

Hafizur Rahman, an agricultural entrepreneur and schoolteacher in Kaliganj upazila, has had great success with longan (kathlichu) and earned well from sales this year. "Longan is a foreign fruit. It costs little to grow; it just needs care. It does not need much chemical fertiliser or pesticide. I plan to grow rambutan and several other foreign fruits in future," he said.

Grape cultivation has also increased in Maheshpur, Harinakunda and Sadar upazilas, where coloured grapes are being grown alongside green ones. Ariful Islam, a grape grower from Betai village in Sadar upazila, said he succeeded in growing grapes on a trial basis and plans to expand next year.

Abdur Rashid of Maheshpur upazila said: "This year I grew grapes on 3 bighas. I built the orchard by planting saplings of at least 12 foreign grape varieties. Because of the different varieties I have had good yields of brown, red and green grapes, and the price has been good too. Alongside growing grapes, I aim to produce quality saplings."

According to the district office of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), rambutan was grown on 1 hectare in the district in the 2024-25 season, with farmers in Kaliganj and Kotchandpur growing it on a trial basis. Avocado was grown on 2 hectares in the district; of this, the office lists 1.75 hectares in Kaliganj, 1 hectare in Kotchandpur and 0.24 hectares in Harinakunda.

Grapes were grown on a trial basis on 2.25 hectares in Sadar, Harinakunda, Kaliganj, Kotchandpur and Maheshpur upazilas: 0.44 hectares in Sadar, 0.55 in Kaliganj, 0.31 in Kotchandpur, 0.66 in Maheshpur and 0.29 in Harinakunda, all of various foreign varieties.

Sasthi Chandra Roy, deputy director of the DAE in the district, said: "The soil of every upazila in Jhenaidah has a special quality. Farmers are profiting by growing various foreign fruits in it. Farmers started on a trial basis, but after success it is turning into commercial cultivation. You could call it a great revolution in our agriculture. If cultivation of foreign fruits grows, dependence on fruit imports will fall. Farmers will benefit and foreign currency will be saved."

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