Magura's Simakhali market sends jackfruit to 30-35 districts

One of Bangladesh's largest wholesale jackfruit markets has grown up around Simakhali bazaar in Shalikha upazila, Magura. Jagonews24 reported on 17 July 2026 that jackfruit from here is supplied to 30 to 35 districts every season. That year farmers, orchard owners and traders in the district were pleased with a bumper crop and good prices.

Jackfruit is the national fruit of Bangladesh and the largest fruit borne on any tree. The green fruit is cooked as a vegetable, the ripe bulbs are eaten as fruit, the seeds are eaten too, and the timber is used for furniture.

Magura district lies in Khulna Division and covers 1,039.1 square kilometres; Shalikha is one of its four upazilas. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics' 2022 census, Shalikha had a population of 179,666 on 228.65 square kilometres, divided into seven unions.

Wholesale buyers at Simakhali bazaar buy jackfruit and send it on to districts across the country. Trader Akram Molla told Jagonews24: "I buy jackfruit at Simakhali bazaar and send it to different districts. Trading here goes on until late at night. The business is quite profitable."

Another grower, Hashem, said: "Magura's jackfruit has very good taste and quality. The yield has been very good this year too. I am making a good profit from jackfruit. It is a profitable crop."

According to the Magura district agriculture office, jackfruit was grown on 752 hectares in the district in the 2026 season. The production target was 33,794 metric tonnes, with an estimated market value of about Tk 67 crore.

Md Taizul Islam, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Magura, said the district's jackfruit yield had been good that year. He told Jagonews24: "Farmers are being given regular technical support. If export opportunities can be expanded in future, jackfruit can play an important role in the country's economy."

The deputy director's remark about exports came while jackfruit exports were being discussed nationally. The Daily Ittefaq reported on 28 June 2026 that jackfruit exports from Bangladesh were among the subjects of 17 memorandums of understanding signed during the prime minister's recent visit to China. The report said China is the largest importer of jackfruit, while, according to a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report, Bangladesh's share of global jackfruit exports was only 0.3 percent.

Citing the Fruit Research Centre of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), the same report said the country produces 8 to 10 lakh tonnes of jackfruit a year, but more than 45 percent of it is wasted because domestic demand is low and there is no export outlet. According to the centre's chief scientific officer, Dr Md Shafiqul Islam, jackfruit ranks third among the country's fruits after mango and banana, and BARI has released six jackfruit varieties. Experts cited in the report saw weak capacity in quality control, processing and packaging as the main obstacles to exports.

Photo: Shahnoor Habib Munmun / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

Sources: Jagonews24, The Daily Ittefaq, The Daily Star, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (Population and Housing Census 2022), Wikipedia