Pineapple farmers of Rangamati district are struggling to survive as the nationwide shutdown due to the coronavirus outbreak has thrown their businesses into disarray.
A bumper yield of pineapple made farmers happy at Naniarchar upazila in Rangamati, but the lack of customers due to the coronavirus pandemic cut short their happiness.
Supply of pineapple is higher than demand, therefore the local growers are being compelled to sell the juicy fruit at painfully low prices. Due to the nationwide lockdown traders did not come to buy pineapples and the ones who bought pineapples are all local traders, who bought them on small scale. That is why farmers are finding it difficult to even raise their cost of production.
Naniarchar is famous for producing different kinds of delicious pineapples. Wholesellers from across the country including Dhaka and Chattogram throng local markets for this delectable fruit every year.
However, the demand for pineapples has decreased this year due to coronavirus. This season, local markets are suffering from lack of wholesalers and customers due to the transport shortage triggered by the nationwide shutdown.
Pineapple farmer Abul Hashem said, “The yield has been better this year than other years. I thought I would make more profit but corona has changed everything for us. At present, pineapple was supposed to sell for 10-15 taka per piece but because of the virus, we are selling it at 3-5 taka per piece.”
Rangamati has pineapple markets all over the city. Even though the prices are within reach, the locals do not leave their houses and there is not much to sell in the markets. Per thousand pineapples are being sold at a wholesale price of only 2-3 thousand taka, where per thousand pineapples were sold for 15-20 thousand taka last year.
Mia, a wholesale pineapple trader at Samataghat in Banrupa Bazar of the district town, said, “I am buying pineapple from here.Each piece of pineapple cost me 7-8 taka. However, my other variable costs increase the price of each pineapple to 12-15 taka. This includes transporting the pineapples to Chattogram’s market.”
Santa Chakma, a wholesaler in the same area, said that although he made a lot of profit by selling pineapple every year, he was not going to make much profit this year due to the coronavirus, which has also limited its movement to markets across the country."
Traders Abu Hanif and Nur Alam said, “We will not be able to make much profit by trading pineapple this year. Because of lockdown transportation facilitates are limited and people do not come out of their house, that is why pineapple sales are low.”
Kanti Chakma, deputy director of the Rangamati Department of Agricultural Extension, said, “Naniyarchar upazila is well-known across the country for its pineapple production. Pineapple is usually produced in the month of Baishakh-Jyastha. However, the pineapples that are currently being produced in advance have been made using scientific technology using hormonal chemicals.
He added, “Pineapples have been cultivated on around 2,150 hectares of land in Naniachar upazila. However, due to the coronavirus, pineapplesare selling less and the farmers are not getting a fair price.”
He further said, “In the management of agricultural extension, incentives of aus seed paddy are being given to the farmers in Rangamati on 4,000 bighas of land. If any pineapple farmer wants to cultivate aus paddy, he will also be brought under this incentive.”
