The consumers are unhappy over the prices of the winter vegetables this winter. It has disheartened the consumers, especially, low income people as they are the worst sufferers here. They cannot see any reason for highly increased prices when there is an abandoned supply of the winter vegetables due to optimum production in the current season.
When the Bangladesh Post correspondent visited a number of kitchen market Jhenidah, talked to a number of consumers. Government employees GautamSarker and ManirulHaider said the price of the winter vegetables is almost double than the last season. But the supply of the same was optimum since early winter in the district.
During the visit it was observed that each kilogram of cauliflower is selling at Taka 45 to as against Taka 30 last season. The price of cabbage was almost same in the market. Each kilogram of bitter gourd (uchchhe) is selling at Tk70 to Tk80. A piece of pumpkin is sold at Tk40 to Tk50, eggplants at Tk50 to Tk55 and the radish at Tk40 to Tk45.
House wifeMadhuriSaha saidonly the cauliflower and egg plants, the prices of ladies finger, sweet pumpkin, basil, spinach and other seasonal vegetables have risen in the market in the early season of the winter. The people like her were the worst sufferers due to price hike in vegetables.
Nurul Islam, a farmer of Bishoykhali Bazar under Maharajpur union of Jhenidah Sadar upazila said the farmers incurred heavy loss cultivating the vegetables in the last season as the price was lower.
Further, the production cost including land mortgage charge, seeds, fertilizer, pesticides and irrigation water supply and day labour charges were increasing day by day. The present trend of the vegetables price might help them run smooth and recover the losses partially caused due to lower prices of paddy, wheat, jute and other crops, Nurul Islam said.
Department of agriculture extension (DAE) in Jhenidah office sources said, the farmers in JhenidahSadar, Kaliganj, Kotchandpur, Moheshpur, Sailkupa and Harinakundu have been reaping better vegetables in the season.
The department has set target to produce 239,671 tons of vegetables on 11,495 hectares of land in the current season as against past season’s 231,180 tones on a total of 11,050 hectares throughout the district.
Deputy director of the DAE in Jhenidah GM Abdur Rauf when contacted said the farmers are harvesting better yield of the winter vegetables this winter season as there was no excessive rainfall from the inception of the farming this season.
Further, a good number of farmers cultivated coli flower, cabbage, radish, spinach, basil, beans, long beans, pumpkin and some other varieties targeting the early winter in the season, DAE deputy director said.
