Desk Report,
The price of 64 betel leaves in Rajshahi is now only 4 taka.
Farmer Enamul Haque was sorting betel leaves at the Mougachi market in Rajshahi’s Mohanpur upazila. He sold betel leaves at the market on Thursday for four taka per betel leaf. This farmer from Kharail village in Bakshimail union of the upazila has cultivated betel leaves on two bighas of land. But he said that he is now unable to cover the expenses of the workers by selling betel leaves.
The price of 64 betel leaves in Rajshahi is now only 4 taka.
Enamul Haque told Prothom Alo, “A worker can pick a maximum of three betel leaves from the barge. It costs a lot to sort them and bring them to the market. The laborer’s expenses alone cost 600 taka. Now, the maximum income from selling three betel leaves is 400 taka. Now, there is only loss and loss in betel leaves.
Betel farmers said that in Rajshahi, one betel leaf contains 64 betel leaves. And 32 betel leaves contain one betel leaf. Betel leaves are sold in the wholesale market in both betel leaves and betel leaves in the market. The betel leaves that Enamul has brought to the market are small in size. In the Mougachi market, large betel leaves are sold for up to 30 taka per bundle. However, even 15 days ago, 1 bundle of large betel was sold for up to 120 taka. At that time, the lowest bid was 40 to 50 taka.
Altab Hossain, a betel farmer from Madanhati village in Mohanpur, said, “On Wednesday, I sold betel leaves for 10 to 12 taka per bundle. Today (Thursday), no one is paying the price. This time, sugarbeet was infested with betel leaves during the drought before Eid. Then, the insect disappeared due to the rain. Now, there are only betel leaves and betel leaves on the trees. But there is no price.”
Mizanur Rahman, a farmer from Shuvipara village in Baragachi union of Paba upazila, has cultivated betel leaves on about one bigha of land. He said, this time the betel leaves have been good. But what if the betel leaves are good, now they have to be sold for 10-15 taka per bundle. If the price is like this, the cost of cultivation will not be covered.
Md. Ayez Uddin has been doing betel business in the Mougachi market for 30 years. He showed some betel leaves to Prothom Alo and said, “This betel leaf is the best in the market. However, this betel leaf is being sold for 30 to 40 taka per beda. Even 15 days ago, betel leaves were sold for 100 taka per beda.
Another businessman named Md. Ismail Bepari said, “The betel leaves I bought on Wednesday for 14 taka per beda. Today (Thursday) it is 5 taka. Even then, I have not bought betel leaves. Because the betel leaves sent to Dhaka on Wednesday were not sold. What should I do if there is no demand?” As for the reason for the fall in betel leaf prices, he said, firstly, it is the peak season now, the supply is high. Secondly, poor people eat betel leaves. As the price of betel leaves has increased in the market, they are eating less betel leaves. The price of both is low. However, the price has not decreased so much in the last five to seven years.
According to sources from the Rajshahi Department of Agricultural Extension, betel leaves have been cultivated on 4,509 hectares of land in 9 upazilas of the district this year. The production target has been set at 79,681 metric tons. Last season, betel was cultivated on 4,500 hectares of land. The production was 77,220 metric tons.
On August 31 last year, ‘Rajshahi’s Sweet Betel’ was registered as a GI product. Betel worth about 3.5 billion taka is traded in Rajshahi every year.
Umme Chalma, Deputy Director of the Rajshahi Department of Agricultural Extension, said that the highest betel production occurs in the three months of June-September. As a result, the price decreases during this period. However, this time, the price has decreased due to more rain and the increase in the price of other food items. She also said that betel is sold at the highest price from March to May. During this period, a betel is sold at a maximum of 160 taka. And from October to February of this year, a betel is sold at an average price of 100 taka. Therefore, it cannot be said that farmers are suffering losses by selling betel.
