Jackfruit that sold for Tk 10 now costs up to Tk 1,000 in Gazipur

As the jackfruit season has ended in Gazipur, dwindling supplies have sent prices soaring. Fruits that sold for as little as Tk 10 in village markets during the season are now fetching Tk 500 to Tk 1,000 each.

A visit to markets in Kapasia, Jainabazar and Baromi showed that jackfruits, which were available for as little as Tk 10 in village markets from May to the end of July during the season, have become expensive since the season ended. The few jackfruits still hanging on trees are now being sold at much higher prices, with some large fruits priced at Tk 1,000 each.

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On Thursday morning, Alomgir Hossain, 43, a resident of Banarhaola village in Kapasia upazila and in-charge of the Upazila Land Service Assistance Centre, bought a jackfruit from a village market for Tk 500.

“I sold jackfruits from my own orchard for Tk 10 each just a few days ago. But now I had to buy one for Tk 500,” he said.

“The person I bought it from said he had to purchase these jackfruits at a higher price. Jackfruits available at the end of the season also taste better, so people are willing to pay more for them.”

Meanwhile, the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Gazipur is taking an initiative to establish a processing centre to preserve jackfruits, said its Deputy Director Rafiqul Islam Khan.

Speaking to The Daily Star on Thursday morning, he said jackfruits cannot be stored in cold storage but can be preserved through processing.

“We are considering establishing a jackfruit processing centre at a location in Sreepur or Kapasia. We already have some entrepreneurs interested in this,” he said.

Jackfruits are still being sold in markets in different villages of Kapasia and Sreepur, two areas in Gazipur, known as the “capital of jackfruit”.

On Wednesday, the weekly market day, Main Uddin came to Baromi Bazar with five jackfruits to sell. He said he was selling them for Tk 400 to Tk 1,000 each. He bought the fruits at different prices by travelling from village to village.

The jackfruit season has now ended, and the piles of fruit that once filled the upazila markets are no longer seen. Even Jainabazar, the largest jackfruit market in Sreepur, now has very few jackfruits.

Trader Milon Mia said jackfruits are available at low prices during the season, but traders now have to buy them at higher prices. He also said late-season jackfruits taste better, making consumers willing to pay more.

Fruit trader Abul Hossain attributed the rise in prices mainly to differences in varieties.

“Not all varieties of jackfruit mature at the same time. Some varieties bear fruit well before the season begins, while others bear fruit towards the end of the season. As supplies are low in the market, the prices of these jackfruits are naturally higher,” he said.

Farmer Anisuzzaman Sohel told The Daily Star that farmers could make much higher profits by planting jackfruit trees according to their varieties, as there is demand for both early- and late-season jackfruits.

Sreepur Upazila Agriculture Officer Sumaiya Sultana Bonna said the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute has already developed some early varieties of jackfruit. Saplings of these varieties are being supplied to some nurseries, and some of them are year-round varieties.

“Farmers can get good prices if they plant saplings according to the varieties,” she said.

She said the jackfruit production target in Sreepur has been set at 60 metric tonnes this year.

According to data from the District Department of Agricultural Extension, jackfruit is cultivated on around 8,502 hectares of land in Gazipur.