GOPALGANJ, May 26: Palm juice extractors in char areas under Gopalganj Sadar are passing busy time as they prepare tasty molasses from it.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Gopalganj official sources, palm tree is growing on 130 hectares of land across the district.
Around 1,509 tonnes of molasses are produced in the area annually, a DAE official said, adding, some 30 kg to 32 kg of molasses can be produced from a single tree in a season.
Palm cultivation should be expanded as it is a profitable venture, the official further said.
Local sources said about 100 to 120 people are engaged in extracting palm juice in the upazila.
Momin Molla of Char Mongalpur village under Jalalabad union said he has been doing the work over the last 12 years.
He usually extracts around 20 trees everyday.
Around 25 kg to 30 kg of palm molasses can be produced from the juice he gets a day.
Palm molasses is selling at a high rate in Sylhet, Chittagong, Rajshahi and Dinajpur districts, Momin further said.
Santos Biswas, sub-assistant agriculture officer, Jalalabad union, said preparing molasses from palm juice is a tradition in the district.
People make a handsome profit by selling the popular item every season.
