How northern districts produce Tk500cr vermicelli during Eid season

For most of the year, 60-year-old Jahangir Alam works as an artisan at an aluminium flatware manufacturing factory. But, every Eid, he switches professions to work as a vermicelli maker. 

The Bogura local has been doing this for the last 20 years as the seasonal job offers lucrative wages.

"I work as a seasonal vermicelli maker for 1.5 months during Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha. During this period, I earn about Tk70,000," he said. 

He is not the only one. A huge number of seasonal workers join Bogura's vermicelli factories on contract-basis during Eid, when demand for the product peaks.

According to local estimates, around Tk500 crore worth of vermicelli is produced during the Eid season in Bogura and other northern districts.

The local vermicelli industry has gained a reputation across the country and beyond for its quality. In recent years, the Bogura product is also making its way to the Middle East.

Traders said during the Eid season spanning 45 days, over 26,200 tonnes of vermicelli are produced in Northern districts. Among them, branded vermicelli worth over Tk340 crore and non-branded vermicelli worth Tk200 crore are produced in 16 districts in the region.

Activities regarding the seasonal vermicelli business begin 15 days before the advent of Ramadan. At least 170 factories in the district make vermicelli during the Eid season. The number of factories involved in this business in the Northern districts has exceeded 250, according to the Bangladesh Bread, Biscuit and Confectionery Manufacturers Association Uttarbanga Parishad.

These products are supplied to different districts across the country, including Dhaka, Chattogram, Barishal and Sylhet.

In recent years, vermicelli produced in Bogura is also being exported to Middle Eastern countries on a small scale after meeting the local demand.

Hasan Ali Alal, chairman of Bogura's 100-year-old Akbaria Group, told The Business Standard that around one-third of its vermicelli is produced in the district during the Eid season. The group has been exporting it to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Yemen for the last few years.

"We have been trying to capture the markets in those countries. If various government policies regarding export are relaxed, it will be possible to earn a large amount of foreign exchange by exporting it," he said.

There are 10 factories of different brands in Bogura that produce vermicelli throughout the year, while the others produce it mainly during the Eid season.

Rustom Ali, a veteran vermicelli maker at Khaja Confectionary which produces vermicelli for the local brand Royal, said there are 40 people working for the confectionery. Workers are divided into teams of 8-12 people in every factory. Each team can prepare vermicelli out of about 12 sacks of flour per day.

Some of the workers only work in the factory during the Eid season for higher wages than their regular jobs. As the demand for veteran vermicelli drops after Eid season, they go back to working in other professions. Some others work on contract-basis during Eid and on monthly salary-basis during the rest of the year.

Due to the high reputation of Bogura's vermicelli, the local industry is also attracting many new entrepreneurs.