Rangamati pineapple farmers benefit from early cultivation

Farmers in Rangamati have inclined to an early cultivation of pineapples – the most popular and highest yielding seasonal fruit in the hills – for the past few years as they have been making good profits from them.

This year, wholesalers hope sales will be better as demand for citrus fruits has increased since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country.

Usually, pineapple is cultivated between June and July but for the last few years, it has been cultivated during January and February. Farmers from various upazilas of the district bring pineapples to the district town in motorized boats and supply them all over the country through wholesalers.

Sajib Chakma from Naniarchar upazila has produced 20,000 pineapple saplings​​. Last Wednesday, he brought 3,000 pineapples to the weekly market and sold each pineapple at Tk9. 

"Since we don't get good prices during the season, we cultivate early now," he said.

Ramesh Chakma, a pineapple grower in Sapchhari area of ​​Sadar upazila, said he cultivated 9,000 pineapples this year. Medium and large pineapples are being sold at Tk7-9.

Arman Ali, a wholesale seasonal fruit trader, said prices were higher now as the pineapple season had not started yet.

"We buy each pineapple at Tk4-5 during the regular season but now we are buying each at Tk8-9, which we can sell at Tk12-13," Arman said.

Meanwhile, visiting the local retail markets of Rangamati's Banarupa Bazaar on Wednesday morning, The Business Standard found that medium-sized pineapples were being sold at Tk40 per pair and large size pineapples at Tk50 per pair.

Ananta Chakma, a local entrepreneur and businessman who buys pineapples from farmers and sells them in different parts of the country through online orders, hoped he would make a good profit with the early cultivation.

Krishna Prasad Mallick, deputy director of the Rangamati office of the Department of Agricultural Extension, said pineapples were being cultivated in around ten upazilas of Rangamati but more were being cultivated in Naniyarchar and Rangamati Sadar.

During the last season, 55,850 tonnes of pineapples were produced on 2,130 hectares of land in ten upazilas of Rangamati. Of the land, 1,070 hectares are in Naniyarchar and 570 hectares in Sadar upazila. Arable land will increase more this year, he added.

So far, the Department of Agriculture has cultivated pineapples early on 730 hectares of land. Farmers are benefiting from early cultivation and are inclined to cultivating more, said Krishna Prasad.

Ethrel hormones are used to grow pineapples ahead of their time. With the application of hormones, almost all the trees bear flowers simultaneously. When the seedlings are nine months' old or 22 leaves of the seedlings sprout, fruits weighing half a kg can be obtained by applying hormones.

At 13 months, when 28 leaves of the seedlings have sprouted, one-kg fruits can be obtained by applying hormones. It is possible to earn Tk1 lakh per acre by growing pineapples on 2,500 trees in winter. 

"The hormone works in bringing flowers to the plant and does not have any effect on the fruit," he said.

Pineapple cultivation in Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban.