Md. Nur Islam Nayan:
Farmers in North Bengal’s agricultural district Dinajpur are smiling due to the bumper tomato yield this season. There is now a festival of red tomatoes in the Gabura Bazar area of Sadar Upazila. More than a hundred wholesalers from different districts of the country – Dhaka, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and Feni – are flocking to this market every day.
According to the District Agricultural Extension Department, although 36,018 metric tons of tomatoes were produced on 865 hectares of land in the last fiscal year, the cultivation has increased to 1,108 hectares in the current season. The production target has been set at 46,137 metric tons.
It can be seen on the ground that temporary warehouses have been set up in an area of about one kilometer from Mastan Bazar on the Dinajpur-Chirirbandar road. Farmers are bringing their tomatoes to the market in vans, motorcycles and on their shoulders. Each warehouse has 10 to 30 workers working. They are busy sorting, grading and grading.
Abdul Hamid, a farmer from Sadar Upazila, said that both the yield and price are better this year compared to last year. He sold tomatoes at Tk 1,050 per maund. Currently, ‘Bipul Plus’ and ‘Beauty’ varieties are being sold at Tk 950 to 1,000 in the market, and ‘Ansal’ varieties are being sold at Tk 1,100 to 1,200.
However, despite the success in production, there is a crisis in marketing. Traders said that due to the shortage of fuel oil and transportation crisis, the transportation of goods is becoming increasingly difficult. Earlier, the fare per truck from Dinajpur to Dhaka was Tk 18 to 22,000, but now it has increased to Tk 30 to 40,000. In addition, there is a shortage of necessary trucks.
Aminul Islam, a wholesaler from Shariatpur, said, “We cannot buy products at a higher price from here and sell them at that price in Dhaka. We are suffering losses due to truck shortages and excessive fares.”
Transport officials said that they are being forced to increase fares due to irregularities in diesel supply, long waiting times and increased operating costs.
Meanwhile, tomatoes are being sold at Tk 45 to Tk 60 per kg in the retail market in Dhaka, which traders believe is not in line with the wholesale market.
Additional Director (Grains) of the District Agricultural Extension Department Md. Anisuzzaman said, “Production has increased due to regular advice to farmers at the field level. However, it is now urgent to improve marketing and transport systems.”
According to those concerned, this positive trend of agricultural products may be disrupted if fuel supply is not normalized and the transport sector is not stabilized. This is likely to affect all three parties: farmers, traders and consumers.
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