Jute farmers in Rajshahi are facing a sharp fall in prices despite a good harvest this season, with the price of the fibre dropping by Tk 800–1,000 per maund in just two weeks.
At the Naohata jute market in Paba upazila on Thursday, jute that fetched Tk 4,000–4,500 per maund two weeks earlier was being sold for Tk 3,200–3,500.
The sudden decline has left farmers worried about recovering their production costs and making a reasonable profit. Some farmers refused to sell at the prevailing rates and took their produce back home.
Farmers blamed middlemen and some unscrupulous traders for manipulating the market, while traders attributed the price fall to increased supplies of newly harvested jute.
Visiting the Naohata market, this correspondent found farmers arriving with jute loaded on vans, bhutbhutis and Nasimons. While some were negotiating with traders, others returned home without selling after failing to get their expected price.
Saiful Islam, a farmer from Char Majardia in Paba, brought 65 maunds of jute to the market. He said he had sold 10 maunds of the same quality two weeks earlier at Tk 4,000 per maund.
“Two weeks ago, I sold jute at Tk 4,000 per maund. Today, I have to sell the same quality at Tk 3,400. The price has fallen by Tk 800 to Tk 1,000 per maund. We can accept a reduction of Tk 100 or Tk 200, but when the price falls by Tk 1,000 at once, where will the farmers go?” he said.
Babu, a farmer from Darusha in Paba, brought 149kg of jute to the market but decided not to sell after traders offered Tk 3,400 per maund. He had previously sold 12 maunds at Tk 4,000 per maund.
“I asked for Tk 4,000, but the traders offered Tk 3,400. I have another 22 maunds at home. I will not sell them unless the price rises,” he said.
Salman Ali, a farmer from Kesharhat in Mohanpur, also returned home with around 4.5 maunds of jute after traders offered Tk 3,500 per maund against his demand for Tk 4,000.
“This year the yield has been good, but cultivation costs have also been high. At Tk 3,500, there will be very little profit. So I decided to take the jute back home,” he said.
Milon Ali, a jute trader at Muskan Traders in Naohata, said supplies had been low in mid-July, when traders paid as much as Tk 4,500 per maund.
“Now that new jute has started arriving in the market, prices have fallen. We still have jute that we bought at higher prices last month. If prices do not rise, traders will also suffer losses,” he said.
Amal Das, leaseholder of the Naohata jute market, said trading takes place every Monday and Thursday from early morning until 8am. Around 2,000 maunds of jute are sold on average at each market session.
He said jute that sold for Tk 4,000–4,500 per maund two weeks ago was now fetching Tk 3,200–3,500, depending on quality.
Mohammad Nadim Akhtar, assistant director of the Jute Department in Rajshahi, said jute is traded in an open market and prices fluctuate according to supply and demand.
He said several jute mills operate around Naohata and are the main buyers in the local market. When mills purchase less jute, demand falls and prices decline. Increased purchases, on the other hand, can push prices up.
According to the Jute Department, Rajshahi is expected to produce 381,696 quintals of jute this year, compared with 360,494 quintals last year—an increase of 21,202 quintals.
The increase in production could result in higher supplies and put further pressure on prices, Nadim said.
Mohammad Nasir Uddin, deputy director of the Rajshahi Department of Agricultural Extension, said jute was cultivated on 18,399 hectares in the district this season, up from 17,305 hectares last year. The cultivated area increased by 1,094 hectares in a year.
Farmers received good prices for early varieties of jute, he said. However, prices may fall when large quantities of newly harvested jute enter the market simultaneously.
For farmers, the concern is now not whether they can produce a good crop, but whether they can sell it at a price that covers their costs and provides a fair return.
With the peak harvesting season approaching, farmers fear that a further increase in supply could push prices down even more, turning a potentially good harvest into a financial setback.