Many people in Bangladesh are finding it difficult to purchase fruits owing to the high prices. According to Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (Bari), the country has a demand of 11.68 million tons of fruits. There are 5.07 million tons of 70 types of fruits produced at 160,000 hectares of land — less than 1% of the total cultivable land in the country. This puts the demand deficit at 6.6 million tons.
Recently, in retail fruit shops at Mirpur and Karwan Bazar and some super shops in the capital, a kg of apples was sold at Tk150-280, oranges Tk220-270, red grapes Tk280-300, green grapes Tk300-380, dates Tk700-1,200, pomegranate Tk280-400, pear Tk220-280, dragon fruit Tk450-500 and green dates for Tk580. All of these are imported fruits.
Local fruit prices were also high, per kg of guava sold for Tk80, ripe papaya for Tk100 per piece, and pineapples for Tk50-60 apiece.
It is reported that in the four months from May to August, the country produces 54% of the total fruit production, while the remaining 46% is cultivated throughout the remainder of the year.
