The ongoing heat wave has increased the demand for green coconuts as many are rushing for its water to quench their thirst. They are paying a hefty price too.
The price of green coconut has soared by Tk30 to Tk60 per piece while a small-sized green coconut is being sold at Tk100 in the capital. The medium and large-sized green coconut is selling at Tk150 to 200 per piece even, a record price.
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Jusinur, who sells green coconut at Motijheel area on a van, told UNB that the wholesalers have increased prices of green coconut by Tk 30 to 60 per piece after recent Eid vacation.
He said he has never seen such a big hike in price in the five years he has been in the business. Not even during Covid-19 pandemic.
Imbrahim Sarder, a wholesaler of green coconut and fruits at Badamtoli of Sdarghat told this correspondent the demand, which was low immediately after Eid-ul-Fitr, made a big jump when the extreme heat wave came.
These retail vendors purchase the green coconut at higher price from the large suppliers of the growers and this raises the price at the wholesale market, he said.
Similar high prices of green coconut were seen outside Dhaka Medical College, in Gulistan, Paltan and Shahbagh areas on Sunday.
Karwan Bazar, a wholesale market, also saw a higher price of green coconut. The traders claimed that the prices of green coconut rose at the supply points in Barishal, Bhola, Bagerhat, Noakhali, Faridpur, Jashore and Mymensingh regions.
At the supply level, prices of green coconut have increased by Tk30 per piece over the last 10 days.
A wholesaler Surja Ali told UNB that green coconut is being sold in a lot of 100 pieces with price ranging from Tk12000 to 14000. Such a high price was not seen earlier.
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The prices were less than Tk 2000 to 3000 even during the Ramadan.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), a green coconut sold an average of Tk22 in 2009. In 2020 the price increased to Tk74 per piece.
Currently, the average price does go below Tk100 per piece, said SM Nazer Hossain, vice president of CAB.
The production of coconut fell to 510,360 tons in 38,221 hectares of land in FY 2021-22 from 688,691 tonnes in 46,960 hectares of land in FY 2016-17, according to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE).
Analysing the DAE data, it is found that the production of coconut started to fall after FY 2019-20. The production of coconut was 663,851 tons in FY 2017-18, 650,932 in FY 2018-19, 653,520 tonnes in FY 2019-20, 519,458 tons in FY 2020-21 and 510,360 tons in FY 2021-22, according to the DAE data.
The highest was 88,000 tons of coconut produced in Bhola district in FY 2021-22 while the production in the district was 123,950 tons in FY 2016-17.
Dr. Mehedi Masood, project director of Year-Round Fruit Production for Nutrition Improvement under the DAE, said that cultivation of coconut is not increasing to match with the rise in the country’s population.
“Because of rising demand, the price of both green coconut and coconut increased sharply in the country,” he said.