Once neglected, jute sticks have now become a cash crop as those are being exported to different countries including China for its growing demand in particle board and charcoal factories.
The jute growers in the Faridpur district, who incurred losses this season due to low prices of fiber, are now eying to make profit though selling jute sticks, reports UNB.
The farmers are expecting to earn over Tk 130 crore this season by selling jute sticks which were once used only as fuel of earthen oven, making fence for houses and in betel-nut fields.
Atul Sarkar, deputy commissioner of Faridpur district, said, “Carbon is produced after burning dried jute sticks through technology. It is used in making firecrackers, carbon papers, ink for printers and photocopiers, batteries for mobiles, medicine for cleaning teeth, fertilizers and many other things. So demand for jute sticks is growing.”
During a recent visit to different parts of the district including Saltha, Nagarkanda and Boalmari, the UNB correspondent found the farmers busy in drying up their jute sticks.
A number of jute growers including Firoz Molla, Habibur Rahman and Siraj Pramanik said they are now seeing a ray of hope in jute as they have been earning money by selling jute sticks for the last several years and a number of big companies are purchasing it from them.
Currently 100 bunches of jute sticks are being sold at Tk 500-600 which was Tk 400-500 last year, they said.
Due to scanty rains this season, the farmers of the district failed to rot their jute timely, resulted in poor production and low prices, they said.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension(DAE), this year, a total of 87,475 hectares of land were brought under jute cultivation and they also hope the farmers would be able to sell jute sticks worth Tk 130 crore this season.
Delwar Hossain Sheikh, a jute stick trader of Lonkarchar in Boalmari upazila, said, “I purchased jute sticks worth Tk 1.5 crore to Tk 2 crore and sold those to particle board factories and like me many traders are doing the business.”
Ziaul Haque, deputy-director of the DAE, said jute sticks worth Tk 15000 are found from one hectare of land and this year the farmers can recoup their losses by selling jute sticks.
Nazrul Islam, president of Faridpur Chamber and Commerce Industry, urged the big companies to ensure reasonable price of jute sticks to the farmers so that they can survive.