Early winter vegetables have started arriving in Rajshahi’s wholesale and retail markets, but high prices continue to put pressure on consumers.
A visit to Saheb Bazar Mashtarpatti kitchen market on Sunday morning found a growing variety of winter vegetables, though many remained beyond the reach of ordinary buyers.
Pui shak was selling for Tk10 per kg, while red amaranth and potatoes cost Tk20, papaya Tk25, pointed gourd, taro and elephant foot yam Tk40, onions Tk45, and radish and spiny gourd Tk50 per kg.
Okra and taro stems were selling for Tk60 per kg, while yardlong beans, bitter gourd and cucumber cost Tk70. White eggplant and cauliflower were priced at Tk80 per kg.
Red eggplant and garlic were selling for Tk100 per kg, while green chillies and carrots cost Tk120, beans Tk140, and ginger and tomatoes Tk160. Green bananas were priced at Tk30 for four, while each bottle gourd cost Tk30.
Consumer Anwar Hossain said prices had yet to fall despite the arrival of winter vegetables. Although some items were relatively cheap, the high prices of others made it difficult for consumers to buy a variety of vegetables at once.
Vegetable trader Alauddin said supplies had not increased enough to bring prices down. He expected prices to fall as more produce reached the markets.
Meanwhile, farmers in Paba upazila are expanding early-season vegetable cultivation to take advantage of higher prices before regular winter supplies arrive.
Mosharraf Hossain, a farmer in Paba, said early-season cultivation involved risks, including the potential loss of around 2,000 cauliflower or cabbage plants per bigha. However, farmers could earn substantial profits if they brought their produce to market on time.
He said he had sold cauliflower grown on three bighas and cabbage grown on four-and-a-half bighas at Tk60-70 per head, with prices sometimes reaching Tk90. After deducting production costs, he earned around Tk150,000 per bigha. He is now cultivating cabbage on another 25 bighas.
Another farmer, Nazrul Islam of Alimganj, has grown 4,000 early-season cabbage plants on 12 kathas of land at a cost of Tk18,000-20,000. He has already sold 200 heads at Tk30 each and expects to earn around Tk100,000 from the remaining crop, with a projected profit of Tk80,000 after expenses.
Nazrul said he had earned around Tk500,000 by growing tomatoes on five bighas last year. This season, following advice from the agriculture department, he has planted early-season tomatoes on 10 kathas.
Early-season cauliflower, cabbage, beans, radishes, carrots, eggplants, bottle gourds and leafy vegetables are being cultivated in several areas of Paba, including Haripur, Harian, Damkura, Parila, Borgaichi, Naohata and Paikpara.
Paba Upazila Agriculture Officer MA Mannan said the upazila had already met its seasonal target of cultivating vegetables on 1,895 hectares, with early-season varieties accounting for a significant share.
He said farmers were being encouraged to grow early-season vegetables and advised to use biological pesticides, applying chemical pesticides only at approved doses.
Mustafa Kamal Hossain, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Rajshahi, said the district had set a target of cultivating vegetables on 6,430 hectares this season. Early-season vegetable cultivation had increased by 200 hectares compared with previous years, he added.
