Jackfruit farmers face ruin as unsold fruit rots on trees

Orchards across Gazipur, Bangladesh, are laden with ripe jackfruit, but the season has turned into a period of loss for farmers. Low demand and escalating transport costs mean much of the fruit rots on trees, a stark contrast to previous years where the seasonal trade was profitable.

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But this season, I could not sell jackfruits. Even the jackfruits from my own trees have ripened and fallen to the ground.

Motahar Hossain Muntu, a farmer with decades of experience, expressed despair, stating he could not sell his jackfruits this season, with even fruit from his own trees falling to the ground. "This is the end for me," he lamented, indicating he would not plant more trees or buy new orchards.

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This is the end for me.

The crisis is widespread, affecting farmers like Alauddin, who sat by the roadside with unsold jackfruits, and Mostafa Mia, who found buyers offering a mere Tk 5 per fruit, down from Tk 20-30 last year. Mia resorted to feeding his unsold fruit to cattle, a significant drop from his usual annual earnings of Tk 3,000 to Tk 4,000.

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Every year, I can sell jackfruits worth at least Tk 3,000 to Tk 4,000.

While prices have seen a marginal uptick in the season's final weeks as supply dwindles, many farmers who had not pre-sold their orchards have suffered the most. Asaduzzaman Akash, a teacher and farmer, highlighted the tragic situation of the national fruit, with many jackfruits still ripening on trees, succumbing to insects and birds, or simply falling to the ground.

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Jackfruit is our national fruit. This is the tragic situation of the fruit even in my own home in Kapasia.