Harvest has begun but farmers are facing problems in rotting, washing and preparing the fibre for marketing due to scarce rainfall. This is affecting the quality of raw jute and also its price, they said.

According to sources at the regional office of Agriculture Extension Department (AED), 60,300 hectares were brought under jute cultivation in the eight northern districts. Of them, 9900 hectares were in Rangpur, 7,300 in Gaibandha, 15,000 in Kurigram, 6000 in Lalmonirhat, 8500 in Nilphamari, 4200 in Dinajpur, 3,900 in Thakurgaon and 5,5000 hectares in Panchagarh district.

The production target in the eight districts was fixed at 4,82,400 bales including 68,000 bales in Nilphamari. The target will exceed by 15 to 20 per cent as the weather was favourable during cultivation, they said.

Now jute is being sold at between Tk 550 to Tk 600 depending on the variety and quality, said Arindam Kumar, chief jute inspector in Nilphamari. The price was Tk 650 to Tk 750 two weeks ago.

The prices declined mainly due to poor finishing and quality as farmers face problems in processing the jute due to less rainfall, he said. At places farmers have to stack harvested jute as they do not find water to rot those. Keeping it stacked for days and washing in insufficient water make its colour dull and less attractive to buyers, he said. Prices will pick up again if there is sufficient rain and processing is good, he said.

Quoting meteorological department, Nilphamari AED officials said total rainfall in the district so far since June was only 32 mm against 1,597 mm last year.