Jute growers in Bogra, to their utter disappointment and shocks, are being denied actual prices of their produce in the local markets.
For the denial of fair prices jute, once the country’s golden fibre, has now turned into a bane for farmers who produce it in exchange for hard labour and involving higher cost.
Production of the crop beyond target even could not make the farmers happy in the district this season for the prices they are getting are less than its production cost.
Sources at the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Bogra said at first a target was set to bring 17,000 hectares of land under jute farming in the district this year.
But due to favourable weather, the farmers, expecting higher profit, cultivated jute on additional 260 hectares, with a production target of total 250,000 bales of jute.
Frustration has mostly seized the framers in Sariakandi upazila, who are experiencing plummeting prices of jute, instead of its supply glut in the local markets.
The DAE sources said a total of 7,990 hectares of land were brought under jute cultivation in the upazila, which is 1,001 hectares more than the previous year.
The sources expect that about 91,687 bales of jute would be produced in the upazila this year.
Jute price was good in the middle of June and July this year as jute of best quality sold for Tk1500 to Tk 1600 per maund while that of the low quality sold for Tk1300 to Tk1400 per maund.
But now the farmers are getting price of Tk800 to Tk1000 per maund.
The growers had to spend Tk1200 to produce one maund of jute; so they have now to count heavy losses due to the unfair prices.
Abul Hossain, a jute grower of Sariakandi upazila, said he had cultivated jute on 10 bighas of land, spending additional money for irrigation, for there being drought.
Now he has to incur a big loss for the low price of the crop.
Samsul Islam, another farmer, said he produced 40 maunds of jute from five bighas of land which is equal to approximately 0.10 hectare of land.
He spent Tk8-10 thousand for cultivating jute on each bigha of land.