Bumper crop, but papaya sells at Tk 5-6 a kilo, not even covering harvest costs
In Pirganj, Rangpur, so many farmers planted papaya that the price fell to Tk 5-6 a kilo; growers, including one with 40 decimals, struggle to recover costs.
In Pirganj upazila, Rangpur, many people planted papaya commercially this season in home yards, fallow land and farmland across the municipality and 15 unions. The yield is very good, but because everyone's papaya has reached the market at the same time, the price has fallen; in some places it has to be sold for just Tk 5–6 a kilo. A farmer from Sonatala village said money goes on land preparation, seedlings, fertiliser, pesticide, irrigation, labour and care; at this price the costs are barely recovered, but nothing is left for his own labour. Another farmer in the same area grew papaya on 40 decimals and got plenty of fruit on every tree, but wholesalers (paikars) and traders are buying cheap, so he too is forced to sell at a low price. Another farmer said the price is so low that it often does not even cover the cost of picking the papaya and taking it to market. The upazila agriculture officer's explanation: this season papaya was grown on more land than needed, and many people's papaya came to market at the same time. According to the farmers, storage, processing and direct links with large markets would reduce their dependence on middlemen.
Lessons
- 1.When a whole area rushes into one crop the price can collapse; check how many neighbours are planting the same before you plant.
- 2.Stagger planting or use early varieties to sell outside the peak glut.
- 3.Build a route to bigger distant markets, not only local traders, before harvest.
We published this with the person's permission, without revealing who they are.
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