Sirajganj floating jute market gets momentum
Jute worth Tk7.20 crore was traded on sixteen August and September haat days, say farmers and traders
The floating haat that gathers on the Jamuna in Sirajganj is vibrant with crowds of jute farmers, traders and their helping hands.
Farmers and traders all the way from Jamalpur, Bogura, Tangail, and Kurigram, come to this Sirajganj haat by boat to buy and sell jute. With easy transportation on the waterways at this time of year, traders and farmers come here in great numbers.
The floating jute haat bazaar meets twice a week- Saturday and Wednesday- in Kazipur Upazila on the banks of the River Jamuna. The three months of August, September, and October, are the main season for buying and selling jute at the floating market.
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Talking to this correspondent, a good number of farmers and traders said jute is going for Tk2500-Tk3000 per maund. About 1000-1500 maunds of jute are traded on each haat day, translating to jute trading of about Tk45 lakh on an average, each haat day.
As such, on 16 haat days in August and September,about Tk7.20 crore worth of jute has already been bought and sold. If this pace of trading continues, total jute sales will stand at Tk10.80 crore in three months, farmers and traders hope.
Jute farmers are doing well in recouping their production cost and then some, due to the good prices their jute is fetching at the haat.
Jamsher Ali, a farmer from Khasrajbari, said each maund of jute is going for Tk2500-Tk3000. If the current trend continues, other farmers will also be keen to cultivate jute.
Farid Uddin, a wholesaler from Jamalpur, said he buys 40 to 60 maunds of jute on each haat day as communication facilities on the river are good keeping transportation costs low as well.
Alam, a jute dealer in Kazipur, said he buys 65 to 70 maunds of jute on each haat day and it easy for him as well to buy and transport jute by boat from here.
Haat committee member Abdur Rahim Master says farmers and traders from as far afield as the Sarishabari, Madarganj upzilas of Jamalpur, and the Sariakandi, Dhunat, Sherpur upazilas in Bogura, Bhuapur upazila in Tangail, Bhurungamari in Kurigram, and many other upazilas of Sirajganj, come to buy and sell jute here.
Kazipur's Natuarpara UP chairman and leaseholder of the haat, Abdul Mannan Chan, says about 1000-1500 maunds of jute is traded on each haat day, and a spot on the haat costs only Tk5 per maund sold.
In this regard, Kazipur Upazila Agriculture Officer Rezaul Karim said, this year farmers here cultivated jute on 5,555 hectares of land and produced 12,728 tons of jute. The farmers have not suffered much loss in jute because they harvested their crop before the floods.
Apart from Natuarpara haat, jute worth several lakhs of taka is also sold at Sonamukhi, Dhekuria and Meghai haats in the upazila, the agriculture official said.
The district has also produced much more jute this year than last year. This year, farmers in nine upazilas of the district harvested 34,330 tons of jute from planting on 15,820 hectares of land, said Md Abu Hanif, deputy director of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Sirajganj.
"If the use of jute products for various purposes, including eco-friendly jute wrappers, increases, the demand for jute will increase and farmers will benefit. We have remained vigilant so that farmers get a fair price for their jute," he said.
