The government has taken the initiative of selling watermelons from farmers directly at five places in the capital to break syndicate, said Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdus Shahid on Thursday.
Farmers from across the country will sell watermelons at five places in the capital with the slogan “farmer's product, farmer's price” which has been started.
The initiative taken by the Bangladesh Agri Farmers Association (Bafa) will continue till 27 Ramadan.
The initial five spots are Bangabandhu Chattar in Khamarbari, Zamzam Tower in Uttara Sector 11, Abdul Gani Road near the Secretariat, Japan Garden City in Mohammadpur, and Nayabazar in Old Dhaka.
The minister visited the spot at Khamarbari in the capital and inaugurated the program on Thursday.
He said: “The farmers work hard to cultivate this watermelon. We are working so that the farmers get a fair price.”
The minister said that when the Bafa leaders came to consult him, he told them that consumers want to buy watermelon, but many are unable to buy it due to the high price.
“Bafa take the initiative. I think this is a big initiative to break the syndicate,” said Abdus Shahid.
He urged journalists to publish more news and highlight information on the syndicate
“Market management is very important. The government is working to prevent large price difference between the producer and consumer levels. We will not hesitate to break the syndicate if we get any information,” said the minister.
The minister said that the government is working for the welfare of the people. Government has many initiatives to sell products at fair prices. But there are no manpower and experts to take all the initiatives across the country. “Still we are working as much as we can for the welfare of the people.”
Watermelon weighing more than 5kg is being sold at Tk100 per piece, while those exceeding 7kg being sold at Tk150. Those weighing more than 9kg are being sold at Tk200, and those weighing over 11kg are available to customers at Tk250, said Bafa President AKM Najib Ullah.
A huge crowd of buyers was seen to buy watermelons on the first day.
Some 2,500 watermelons were sold out within a few hours at five locations, according to Bafa.
