Chapainawabganj guava to reach Dubai super shop

Guava being produced in Kandua area of Nachole in Chapainawabganj district has been exported to Dubai and likely to be sold at super shop Lulu Mart.

Rafiqul Islam has exported 14 tonnes of guavas from his orchard through Galaxy Fresh Product Limited. It is expected that the exported guavas will reach the destination within the next 15 to 16 days.

Around five years back, he developed the orchard on 20 bighas of land cultivating mango, guava and some other high-value crops. He also has a fish farming pond there.

Agriculture entrepreneur Rafiqul Islam said 8,000 kilograms of guavas were exported to Dubai earlier as demands of our product are more there compared to other countries.

"We sell guava at Tk 1,400 per maund in local markets, while its price is Tk 2,300 in the global market," he said, adding that Dubai people choose Bangladesh's guava as its sweetness and taste is more compared to other countries. So, our product is sold at a higher price.

Farmers are being imparted training besides providing them with other requisite support on behalf of the local DAE office. There is also a bright prospect of exporting more guava from the upazila.

Upazila Agriculture Officer Bulbul Ahmed said exporting 14 tonnes of guava to Dubai market from the upazila is a good sign of encouraging the farmers towards producing more quality and safe food.

Hemayet Hossain, General Manager of Galaxy Fresh Product Limited, said they always export safe and quality products to the global market and the consumers purchase their products at exorbitant prices.

Meanwhile, commercial farming of high yielding guava has been gaining popularity in the region, including its vast barind tract, and char (riverbed) areas of the Padma River as the farmers reap better yield and get fair market price from the cash crop.

A large number of growers have attained financial solvency by growing the fruit on their lands while Thai guava cultivation is expanding in the areas for good market price bringing a new dimension in the local economy.

As a whole, the Thai guava farming has brought a smile on the faces of grassroots farmers in the region this season.

"I have cultivated Thai guava on 45 decimals of land under Boraigram upazila in Natore district this season," said Ruhul Ameen.

He has grown over 20 maunds of fresh yield and sold those at around Tk 50,000, he added.

Each kg of Thai guava is selling at Tk 95 to Tk 100 in the retail market, while Tk 85 to Tk 90 in the wholesale markets across the region.

"We are providing all necessary support to the farmers to encourage them in boosting production," said Shamsul Haque, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE).

Thai guava cultivation is playing an important role in improving socio- economic conditions in the northern region, he said, adding the fruit has a good demand everywhere in the region.

"I have a Thai guava orchard on two and half bigha of lands. I have been harvesting guava from the orchard during the last couple of years and getting a better yield," said Abdus Sabur, a farmer of the Char Saheb Nagar village under Godagari upazila.

He said farmers of most of the char areas like Alatoly, Diar Manik Chalk, Asariadaha, Mazar Diar, Taranagar, Khidirpur, Khanpur, Shyampur and Gargori are seen cultivating guava along with other seasonal fruits and cereal crops on commercial basis.

More than 105 hectares of land were brought under the guava farming only in Char Mazar Diar village under Paba Upazila of the district, sources said.

Nazer Ali, another farmer said, "I have been gaining good profit cultivating Guava on a commercial basis for the last several years".