Home ›› 11 Dec 2022 ›› Front
Fruit production in FY22 increased by 17.21 per cent year-on-year, the largest annual jump in the country’s history, with banana taking the lead.
The production of fruits also reached a record in that fiscal year, with farmers around the country growing 1.43 crore tonnes on 7.34 lakh hectares of land. In the previous fiscal year, around 1.22 crore tonnes were grown on 7.29 lakh hectares, shows the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) data.
On average, 19.53 tonnes of fruits were produced per hectare in FY22, up from 16.74 tonnes in the previous year.
Banana tops the list
In FY22, farmers produced 29.79 lakh tonnes of banana on 88,938 hectares of land. The fruit’s production rose by 9.19 lakh tonnes year-on-year.
Though banana cultivation land shrank by 2,529 hectares in FY22, its production was higher than that of mango.
Five districts – Narsingdi, Rangamati, Bandarban, Jhenaidah, and Kushtia – produced 15.91 lakh tonnes of banana, which was 53.39 per cent of the total production. Of them, Narsingdi produced the highest amount, 7.9 lakh tonnes. Banana alone accounted for around 20.78 per cent of the total fruit production in the last fiscal year, followed by watermelon (17.45 per cent), mango (16.4 per cent), jackfruit (13.21 per cent), and papaya (4.98 per cent).
These five fruits accounted for around 73 per cent of the total fruit production in FY22. They accounted for the same share in the previous fiscal year as well.
DAE Deputy Director in Narsingdi Mohammad Mahbubur Rashid told The Business Post some farmers made new banana orchards while some planted new trees in old gardens.
He said Narsingdi witnessed a huge jump in production as farmers received good prices for their produce.
“DAE field workers worked hard and provided farmers with the support they needed. Farmers were also diligent in their work,” he added.
With 25 lakh tonnes, mango was the highest-produced fruit in FY21, which ranked third in FY22. Farmers produced 23.5 lakh tonnes of mango on 2.03 lakh hectares of land in FY22 while per hectare yield decreased by a tonne to 11.58 tonnes.
Among the top mango-producing districts, the highest quantity, 3.68 lakh tonnes, was produced in Naogaon. The top five districts – Naogaon, Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi, Bandarban, and Natore – produced 10.6 lakh tonnes, which was 45 per cent of the total production.
With a slight production increase of 24,313 tonnes, jackfruit took the fourth position. The production of the national fruit increased to 18.93 lakh tonnes in FY22 from around 18.69 lakh tonnes in the year before. It was produced on 62,273 hectares of land, with per hectare yield reaching 30.4 tonnes.
Gazipur, Jamalpur, Bandarban, Rangamati, and Mymensingh were the top five jackfruit-producing districts.
Watermelon came out second, with its production increasing by 7.22 lakh tonnes, reaching 25.01 lakh tonnes in FY22 from 17.79 lakh tonnes in FY21.
It was produced on 63,144 hectares of land while per hectare production was 39.6 tonnes, the highest among all fruits. In FY21, per hectare yield was 41.04 tonnes while farmers cultivated the fruit on 43,347 hectares.
DAE Deputy Director in Bhola Hasan Oarisul Kabir told The Business Post farmers are becoming more interested in cultivating watermelon as they are benefitting from the fruit’s high prices in Dhaka and other cities.
“Annual production is breaking the previous record every year. We are closely monitoring field activities.”
In FY20, 14.53 lakh tonnes of watermelon were grown on some 38,824 hectares of land.
Papaya had the fifth position on the list, with 7.14 lakh tonnes of the fruit produced on 27,944 hectares of land in FY22.
In FY21, 6.8 lakh tonnes were produced on 27,473 hectares. Per hectare yield increased to 25.55 tonnes in FY22 from 24.75 tonnes in the previous year.
Bandarban was the top Papaya-producing district, with production reaching 1.18 lakh tonnes, followed by Rajshahi, Tangail, Rangamati, and Manikganj.
Md Rezaul Karim, DAE additional director (Horticulture wing), said the fruit production jump is not surprising as farmers have been getting very good prices for banana and watermelon for the last two to three years.
He said farmers cultivate the fruits that give the highest return.
During the last three years, per piece banana had been sold at Tk 10 on average, and per kg watermelon at Tk 45-60, in Dhaka and many other cities. A medium to large watermelon had been sold at between Tk 250 and Tk 600.
The country exported 6,987 tonnes of fruits in the last fiscal year.
