“Muri”— puffed rice, is an essential item of Iftar for Bangladeshis, is now making a fortune for the people living in an area appropriately known as “Murir graam” – village of puffed rice.
The villages of Bakharkathi and Charadi under Bakerganj upazila of Barisal, Kumarkhali, Charkaya, Jhurkati, Bharatkati and Timirkati under Nalchity upazila of Jhalakathi district are the main centres of muri production and trade, famous for the muri these villages are collectively known as Murir graam.
Here you will find mostly women including many widows, the elderly and youngsters are all busy making “muri” to earn some ready cash.
For six decades, over 2,000 people belonging to 500 families from 13 villages, which are located on the southern banks of the Kirtonkhola-Sugandha Rivers in Dapdapia, have contributed towards making this area the hub of muri production.
Whole sellers say at least 2000kg of muri is produced and sold in this region of Barisal daily. There are “muri warehouses” for “muri traders” who supply the puffed rice to other parts of the country. The traders said Ramadan is the peak season for business, when they can expect to sell muri worth as much as Tk15,0000 -Tk20,0000.
What makes the muri so special from Barisal is the fact it is handmade in the age old way and they do not use chemicals such as urea to make its appearance better. Whole sellers provide muri makers with ready supply of a special variety of rice called “Nakuchi” that costs around Tk38 per kilo, to make puffed rice and therefore ensure both quality and taste are maintained.
Nurjahan Begum is a muri producer from the Murir graam area; she said they can expect to make 40-43kg of muri from 50kg of Nakuchi rice.
After being prepared and packed, the cost of labour and fuel is added to make up the total cost of production said Nurjahan, the muri is sold at Tk52-57 per kilo to buyers.
Manik Bhuiya has been engaged in muri production for over twenty years, he said whole sellers buy muri at Tk60-65 per kilo, and then sell it to retailers for Tk70-80 per kilo, depending on quality and variety. In the market, retailers can ask for Tk90 -100 for a kilo of muri during the peak season.
Sumi is a student of class X who helps her mother make muri at home. Together they produce 40-50kg muri every day. They can expect to earn up to Tk300-500 at the height of season, but during off season earnings go down to Tk150-200 per day.
Yusuf Howladar is a whole seller who said if an automatic rice processing plant could be built in the area then production and labour costs can be reduced further.
Salam Howladar, Gias khan and Shafiq Khan are all whole sellers as well, they too echoed what Yusuf said. They agreed the price of muri would be even cheaper if there was a rice processing plant. Though muri is making a relative fortune for the people of Murir graam, it doesn’t get recognised as a credible business as any other business in the area is, with producers unable to get credit from banks.
Shefali Begum is one of the leading Muri producers in Timirkathi, she said if they could get a little investment and credit from financial organisations then it would help her business grow immensely. Babul Mridha, chairman of Dapdapia union parishad, said the muri production business is yet to get recognition as a credible one to receive incentives or credit facilities from financial institutions, only a few NGOs providing micro credit are willing to help the people of Muri Graam with credit.
