Each maund is being sold at Tk 800-850 against an average production cost of Tk 920-950
44 MIN(s) ago
S Dilip Roy
Farmer Monsur Ali, 65, became deeply frustrated after waiting for hours to sell his paddy at Durakuti Haat in Lalmonirhat.He brought eight maunds of paddy to the market, hoping to sell it at Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,050 per maund. However, after waiting nearly two hours, he had to sell it at only Tk 810 per maund as buyers were unwilling to pay his expected price.Monsur said he cultivated Boro paddy on 10 bighas of land this year. He has already harvested paddy from seven bighas and achieved a yield of 22 maunds per bigha.“This year I got nearly one maund more paddy per bigha. My heart fills with happiness seeing the crop in the field, but in the market there is only disappointment because of low prices,” he said.At the same time last year, he sold paddy at Tk 1,050 per maund.A similar situation was described by farmer Nabin Chandra Barman, 60, from Shalmara village in Aditmari upazila. He said he had to sell paddy at only Tk 800 to Tk 850 per maund.“Last year I sold paddy at Tk 1,050 per maund. This year production costs have increased, yet prices have fallen. Had I known this earlier, I would not have brought my paddy to the market,” he said.Nabin Chandra cultivated Boro paddy on 16 bighas of land this year. According to his calculations, the production cost per maund was around Tk 950. But the current market price is only Tk 800 to Tk 850, meaning even labour costs are not being recovered.
