30 MIN(s) ago
M
Mirza Shakil
Vendors wait beside bicycles piled high with pineapples at a market in Madhupur, Tangail. The season’s harvest is fetching unusually low prices this year. Photo: Mirza Shakil
Pineapple farmers in Tangail’s Madhupur upazila are selling this season’s harvest at a loss, as prices for the GI-certified fruit have collapsed at the peak of the season.Growers and traders blame weakened demand due to continuous rainfall and flooding across the country and a surge in supply during the peak season for the price slump.At wholesale markets in Madhupur, known as the “pineapple capital” of the country, mid-size pineapples are fetching Tk 15 to Tk 20 each. Large ones are selling at Tk 30 to Tk 35, down by Tk 20 to Tk 30 from last season.Growers say it costs roughly Tk 25 to Tk 30 to produce a single pineapple, factoring in seedlings, fertiliser, irrigation, labour and maintenance.“The market is so bad that production costs are not being recovered,” said Eshak Ali, a local farmer. “If this continues, we will have no choice but to abandon pineapple cultivation.”
