Jute prices have risen in the market, but farmers’ profits have not risen proportionately. Alongside rising costs for fertilizer, diesel, pesticides and labor wages, excessive rainfall has reduced yields, so farmers aren’t seeing the benefit of the higher prices either. As a result, jute — once known as the “golden fiber” — has become, for many farmers, more a crop for survival than for profit.
Trading in new-season jute has begun at various markets in Sirajganj. Depending on quality, jute is selling for 4,300 to 5,000 taka per maund. Compared with 3,500 to 4,200 taka per maund at the start of last season, this year’s prices are somewhat higher. But with production costs up and yields down due to excessive rain, farmers are still not seeing the profit they hoped for, even at these higher prices.
A field visit to various areas of Sadar, Kazipur, Raiganj, Kamarkhand, Belkuchi, Tarash, Shahjadpur and Ullapara upazilas in the district found farmers busy retting jute, extracting fiber, washing, drying and marketing it.
Speaking with farmers, it emerged that excessive rain this season prevented jute plants from reaching normal height in many areas. Jute plants typically grow 7 to 12 feet tall, but this year they fell short by 2 to 4 feet in many areas. Farmers say this has reduced fiber production by an average of 40 to 55 kilograms per bigha.
At Chandaikona Bazar in Raiganj, traders were seen buying jute at 4,300 to 5,000 taka per maund, depending on quality. But farmers say even this price isn’t enough given the rise in production costs. Rezaul Sheikh, a farmer from Dhangara village in Raiganj upazila, said, “This year, the price of everything has gone up — fuel, fertilizer, pesticides and labor wages.” He is currently selling his jute at 4,500 taka per maund. Although the price is somewhat better, he remains worried about whether it will hold throughout the season.
Rezaul Sheikh added, “There isn’t much profit in growing jute anymore. Because of this, I’m gradually losing interest in jute cultivation.”
Altaf Hossain, a farmer from Pangashi village in the same upazila, said he produced 6 maunds of jute this year on one bigha of land. Selling at 4,200 taka per maund, that comes to 25,200 taka total. Yet even excluding the value of his own labor, his costs came to about 18,000 taka.
He said, “After deducting production costs, the profit from one bigha over three months, in exchange for my own labor, comes to only about 7,000 taka. Because of the excessive rain, jute production fell by 2 to 3 maunds per bigha this year.”
Calling the golden fiber now a “fiber of sorrow” for farmers, Makbul Sheikh, a farmer in Kazipur upazila, said it costs him about 2,600 taka to produce each maund of jute. This year, he produced 6 to 7 maunds per bigha. Although market prices have risen somewhat, the drop in yield means there isn’t much profit.
Expressing frustration, he said, “Jute fiber used to be called the golden fiber. Now jute fiber has become the farmer’s fiber of sorrow.” Makbul Sheikh, a farmer from Purnimagi village in Ullapara, said that although profits from jute farming are slim, the fiber and jute sticks are still useful for various household purposes, which is why they continue growing it. He grew jute on three bighas of land last year but reduced that to two bighas this year. He said he is now unsure whether he will grow jute at all next year.
Abdus Salam, a jute trader in Kazipur, said, “Depending on fiber quality, we’re buying jute from farmers at 4,200 to 5,000 taka per maund. After deducting transport and other costs, we sell it on to wholesalers at a profit of 200 to 250 taka per maund.”
Traders say that even though jute prices in the market have risen, their profit margin isn’t very large either. As a result, cost pressure runs through the entire supply chain, from farmers to traders.
According to the district Department of Agricultural Extension, jute has been cultivated on 14,610 hectares across Sirajganj’s nine upazilas this season, more than last year. The district’s jute production target for this year has been set at 38,138 bales.
A.K.M. Manjure Maula, deputy director of the district Department of Agricultural Extension, said, “The current market price of jute is positive for farmers. While production is down in some areas due to excessive rain, yields have been satisfactory in many other places. We hope farmers will benefit overall.”
But the farmers’ own accounts on the ground tell a different story. According to them, while jute prices in the market have risen, production costs have risen by far more. Added to that is the damage from reduced yields caused by excessive rain. As a result, much of the higher price ends up simply covering production costs.
Farmers fear that if fair, stable jute prices aren’t ensured, cultivation could decline next season. This would reduce farmers’ interest on one hand, while threatening the production of jute, one of the country’s most traditional cash crops, on the other. Prices are up, but there’s no profit — that seems to be the current reality for Sirajganj’s jute farmers. The “golden fiber” that once inspired farmers’ dreams has, amid rising costs and lower yields, become for many a source of sorrow instead.