29,000 taka a bigha to grow, and no offer above 2,000 a maund

This farmer at Boktarpur village in Rajbari Sadar grows jute every year. This season fertiliser, pesticide and labour all cost more, pushing a bigha (33 shotok) to around 29,000 taka, while the price went the other way: he sold at 3,000 taka a maund last year, and this year he brought 5 maund to market and nobody would offer more than 2,000. There was not enough water at retting time, so the fibre lost its colour and graded badly - only the best jute was fetching 2,400 taka a maund, with traders buying at 1,600 to at most 2,400. On a yield of 8 to 10 maund a bigha that is roughly 5,000 taka of loss per bigha; another grower put his own loss at 5,000 to 7,000. He had borrowed to plant the crop and now has to repay it out of a sale made at a loss. The chief jute inspector said poor retting water had hurt quality across the region, exports had fallen because of the Russia-Ukraine war, and more jute had been planted than the domestic market needed. The district carried 49,050 hectares of jute this season, 770 hectares less than last year.