Taro to join Bogura’s vegetable export rally

Potatoes produced in Bangladesh's northern district of Bogura have been exported for around twelve years. Over the last seven years, cabbage produced in the district has also been available at kitchen markets abroad.       

Now, Bogura's taro root is showing its potential of joining the export rally. Though the district agriculture office does not have vegetable export data, traders and exporters are hopeful about widening the export basket in the upcoming days.    

Traders said 20,000 tonnes of vegetables will be exported this year while the previous year's exports, after processing the agri-items, amounted to 11,000 tonnes.   

There is no official information available about previous years' exports, so the local agricultural extension office started keeping records this year.   

Agricultural officials say this year's cabbage export target is 655 tonnes, while the targets for pumpkin and potatoes are 400 tonnes and 14,000 tonnes, respectively. 

These vegetables will be purchased from 35 local farmers and will head for at least six foreign countries from Chattogram's seaport.  

This season, potato is being cultivated on 18,000 hectares of land in Bogura's Shibganj upazila, with an expected yield of around four lakh tonnes. Other vegetables have been cultivated on 1,700 hectares of land in the district, with a 30-tonne per hectare yield target. Of this, 51,000 tonnes of vegetables will be produced in Shibganj upazila alone.

According to the Bogura Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), winter vegetables – such as potatoes and cabbage – have flooded the local markets as they are at the peak harvesting season. The vegetable cultivation target has been set at 12,813 hectares of land this season, while the DAE's harvesting target is 3.17 lakh tonnes. 

Of the 12 upazilas of the district, most of the vegetables come from Shibganj, and a vegetable market management has developed at the upazila owing to the bountiful production.

On 11 January, the upazila administration and agriculture office officially inaugurated the Cabbage Export Programme. 

However, Sagar Hossain of Jahangirabad area of ​​Shibganj has been exporting cabbage since 2014. Further, Sagar, owner of Messrs Sagar Traders, has been exporting potatoes to different countries since 2008.

Sagar said about 1,050 tonnes of cabbage will be sent to Singapore and Malaysia now, and he signed an agreement with Dhaka-based exporter Mashwa Agro Limited in this regard. 

"Now 60 tonnes of cabbage are being processed, then loaded on trucks and sent to Chattogram Port every day. I have sold potatoes and cabbage worth Tk1.5 crore so far. Around 500 workers, including 300 women, do the vegetable processing and packaging," said Sagar.

Referring to the current high demand for cabbage abroad, the trader said, "Now is the mid-harvest period of cabbage, and we have sold already Tk1.5 crore cabbage. We hope our exports will reach Tk3 crore by the end of the season." 

He said cabbage is mostly produced in the Shibganj's Bihar, Mahasthan and Choto Hatpara areas. They purchase the vegetables from farmers and supply them to exporters. 

"For export, we cannot buy the agri-produce from local markets since they might have chemical contamination. Farmers from whom I collect the items are strictly told to ensure chemical-free vegetables. Moreover, the produce must have the proper weight, and be harvested at a certain time. Only mature vegetables are suitable for export," he added.

Sagar said his potatoes are being exported to: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Through the exporters, he sends 100 tonnes of potatoes every day in the January to October period – the peak season for potatoes. During the off-peak season, he sends 30 to 35 tonnes of potatoes a day.

When contacted, exporting enterprise Mashwa Agro Limited owner Arif Ajad Prince said cabbage had been exported from Bogura and Jashore for several years. 

"In this season – till 4 February – 2,400 tonnes of cabbage have been exported from Bogura. Demand for the item is good this time. We hope that another 2,000 tonnes of cabbage will be exported this season," he continued. 

"Bogura farmers are producing vegetables using the right amount of fertiliser, and this produce qualifies for the international standards," he said, adding, "We buy these vegetables and send them abroad through Chattogram Port." 

Prince said they have orders for 1,000 tonnes of pumpkin this season, and they will be collected from Bogura. "Bogura farmers also produce taro root, while the local prices are low. We will begin taro exports this year by maintaining the cooling chain."

Ajmal Hossain, Bogura potato farmer and trader who won the Bangabandhu National Agriculture Award, has been sending potatoes abroad since 2008.

He said there are no official statistics on how many traders are sending vegetables abroad. But, Bogura farmers exported approximately 11,000-12,000 tonnes of vegetables last year. He predicted exports will exceed 20,000 tonnes this year. 

While contacted, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Shibganj agriculture extension officer, said, "In previous years, farmers exported vegetables without informing us. Therefore, we do not have export data. But we are certifying the exports this year."

He said they are training 500 farmers of the upazila on safe crop production, and the farmers are being encouraged to produce chemical-free vegetables.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer Alamgir Hossain said the farmers receive the training under a special project. He said, "Tk2 lakh has been allocated for the training. We want the exports to increase further in future."