Taking advantage of an immense rise in demand amid the outbreak of dengue across the country, some unscrupulous sellers have hiked the price of green coconut in Barisal.
Traders say prices of green coconut have jumped fourfold since the past month. For this, they blame the interference of middlemen and the lack of preservation and marketing facilities.
They claimed that the supply of green coconuts remained scarce, compounded by a significant increase in transportation costs compared to the previous year.
Green coconuts are considered essential for replenishing fluids for dengue patients, prompting their relatives to flock to roadside vendors.
Wholesaler Ganesh Dutta informed Dhaka Tribune that there are four stages in the business.
At the top are the owners of coconut trees, and then there are the harvesters, followed by the wholesale buyers. The bottom tier is filled with retailers.
According to Ganesh Dutta, the price of coconut in the wholesale market is determined by the extractors, who also vary according to distance to travel, size, and local demand.
Abdur Rahim, a labourer, said they take Tk15-25 per tree from their employers to pick coconuts from trees.
Wahidul Islam, a wholesale buyer, said he buys each coconut from tree owners for Tk35 to Tk45, while Ujjal Roy, a wholesale seller, said his selling prices were Tk50 to Tk65.
These sellers usually add their transportation costs to the prices. They transport green coconuts by boats, pickup vans, rickshaws, and trucks. The more distant the location, the pricier the coconuts get, and they are sold at Tk65 to Tk85.
Jamal Hossain, retailer at Barisal Bangabandhu Udyan, said that he buys green coconuts at a rate of Tk75 to Tk95 and sells them for Tk85 to Tk150.
They said that they incur losses when they buy low-quality coconut from wholesalers, which are very difficult to identify from the outside.
Additionally, they cannot preserve green coconut like farmers do in the case of potatoes; as a result, they are bound to sell them off within a day or two. It is a risky business, traders complained.