Madhupur in Tangail has had a bumper pineapple crop this year, and growers have been getting good prices since the start of the season, much to their satisfaction. With plenty of wholesale buyers, prices have held even though large quantities are arriving at market. Hot weather has pushed up demand this year, and growers say good prices have led to more pineapple planting in the hills. The agriculture department is advising and helping growers.

Wholesalers say demand has risen in the big trading hubs, pushing prices up, with the heat adding to demand for fruit. The agriculture department says pineapple from the Madhupur tract could generate trade worth Tk 760 crore this year.

According to the agriculture department, pineapple has been grown on 7,794 hectares in the district this season, with a target of 272,000 tonnes. Of this, 6,630 hectares are in Madhupur: 2,392 hectares of Jaldugi, 4,220 hectares of Calendar and 18 hectares of MD-2, a variety imported from the Philippines. Expected yields per hectare are 38 tonnes for Calendar, 27 tonnes for Jaldugi and 35 tonnes for MD-2.

In the late 1960s Verena Sangma of Ausnara union in Madhupur brought a few Giant Kew pineapple plants from Meghalaya in India and planted them in the Madhupur tract. The first crop was good and tasted fine, so she planted more land, and others followed her example. Because the soil of the Madhupur tract suits pineapple, cultivation has grown year by year, and farmers are profiting as yields rise. As well as Madhupur, plenty of pineapple has been grown in the hilly areas of Ghatail.

Red-soil pineapple was recently recognised as a GI product, pleasing growers and traders. Pineapple is now the main source of Madhupur's economy, with crores of taka changing hands every year over a selling season of roughly six months.

Jalchhatra in the Madhupur tract is the biggest pineapple market, and Moter Bazar and Garo Bazar are also large. Wholesalers come from all over the country. There are many this year at the height of the season, from Mymensingh, Jamalpur, Kishoreganj, Sherpur, Dhaka, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Kushtia, Barishal, Gazipur and other districts, and trade is brisk every day.

Shahin, a grower at Jalchhatra market, said: "The market has been good for the past few days. A few days ago it sold at Tk 40; now it is selling for Tk 2-3 more. I think it is because wholesalers' demand is high."

Suruj Ali said: "A pineapple sucker costs Tk 4-5. Planting costs a taka, and with leaf covering, weeding, fertiliser, pesticide, covers against sunburn, ripening and harvesting, it comes to Tk 15-18."

Shamsul Haque said: "A small truck used to cost Tk 5,000-6,000 to hire. Now we have to pay Tk 7,000-8,000. Despite higher fares, pineapple prices have risen because buyers' demand has increased."

Belal, a member of the local truck drivers' union, said: "More than a hundred small and large pineapple trucks go from Madhupur to various districts every day. Besides the markets, fruit is loaded straight from the plantations. Because the roads are paved, trucks go into the villages to the plantations, and pineapple goes from there to the trading hubs."

Shahidul Islam, general secretary of the Jalchhatra truck drivers' union, said: "Pineapple goes from this market to all parts of the country every day. The union has arranged cheap lodging at its office for drivers, traders and others who come to the market."

Local people said: "Jalchhatra is the biggest market in this tract. From shops to porters, hawkers and labourers, it is bustling with people of every trade. Because it is so lively, sales rise too, and the local economy keeps moving."

Ashek Parvez, deputy director of the district DAE, told Jago News: "Tangail is one of the main pineapple-producing districts. Incentives have been given to 200 growers, and growers are being trained. Growers are getting good prices this year."

He said: "Farmers use excess hormones to ripen pineapples quickly. We are monitoring to stop them doing this. MD-2 is a variety imported from abroad and keeps longer. We are trying to make it possible to export this variety."

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