Bumper Vegetable Harvest in Bangladesh Yields Low Profits for Farmers Amid Rising Costs

Bagerhat's agricultural fields have yielded a substantial summer vegetable harvest, estimated at Tk 289.48 crore this season. However, the abundance of produce has not translated into significant profits for many local farmers. They report earning meager returns as farm-gate prices remain low, while the costs of essential inputs like fertilizer and pesticides continue to escalate.

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The yield has been bumper this year, but our profit is low because the prices of fertiliser, pesticides and other inputs are very high.

Data from the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) indicates that vegetables have been cultivated across approximately 7,182 hectares in the district between March 16 and October 15. Key producing areas include Fakirhat, which alone generated an estimated 30,000 tonnes of vegetables valued at Tk 60 crore. Chitolmari's production was valued at nearly Tk 64 crore, and Mollahat's at nearly Tk 50 crore. Smaller markets, such as Gachhalia market in Kachua, trade around Tk 4-5 crore worth of vegetables during the season.

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Last year cucumbers sold at Tk 25-30 a kilogram and bitter gourds at Tk 35-40 a kilogram. This year, the prices are at a loss for farmers.

Farmers like Bikash Pal, who cultivates bitter gourds, cucumbers, sweet pumpkins, and watermelons, expressed frustration. Despite a bumper yield from his five bighas of land, he sold bitter gourds wholesale at Tk 23 per kilogram and cucumbers at Tk 11 per kilogram on a recent market day. Pal noted that while the yield was high, profits were low due to the significantly increased prices of fertilizers, pesticides, and other cultivation materials.

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Production is good, but the high cost of fertiliser, pesticides and other inputs is eating into our profit.

His daughter, Tithi Paul, contrasted current prices with the previous year, stating that cucumbers fetched Tk 25-30 per kilogram and bitter gourds Tk 35-40 per kilogram last year. This year's prices, she lamented, are resulting in losses for farmers. Another farmer, Sudeb Das, invested around Tk 20,000 in cultivating bitter gourds and sweet pumpkins on one bigha, but had only recouped Tk 6,000-7,000 so far, selling bitter gourds at Tk 26 per kilogram. He also mentioned paying a Tk 6 market fee and alleged the existence of a syndicate influencing prices, an allegation the DAE deputy director in Bagerhat denied.

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There is no syndicate. Vegetab