Cotton growers in Rangpur happy with prices rise

Cotton growers in the Rangpur region are elated thanks to the increase in the price of the key textile raw material buoyed by rising demand, which is expected to encourage the farmers to expand acreage by manifold in the coming years.

According to the sources at the Cotton Development Board (CDB), 7,200 farmers in the eight districts of the division have grown cotton on 2,400 hectares of land this year. This is an increase from 6,600 farmers who grew the crop on 2,200 hectares last year.

Higher acreage and yield have pushed up output: Cotton production stood at 6,056 tonnes in 2021 and the government has targeted to produce 7,200 tonnes this year.

In terms of bales, the output of cotton fibre totalled 14,421 bales in 2021, whereas about 17,140 bales can be obtained from the crop produced this year. Some 480 pounds, or 218 kilogrammes, make a bale.

The increase in production has been driven by the price hike of cotton.

Prices have been better in the last two years, both in global and local markets, and it is expected that the higher rate will continue in the near future as demand is rising.

In 2021, each maund, or 40 kgs, of cotton was sold at Tk 2,400 in the local market. The government has set the price at Tk 3,600 this year, up 50 per cent.

Hazrat Ali, a cotton farmer in Dhularkuti village in Phulbari upazila of Kurigram, has cultivated cotton on two bighas of land.

He has got 11 maunds of cotton from one bigha and hopes to harvest the same amount from the remaining piece of land, whereas yield totalled 18 maunds last year.

It costs Tk 10,000-Tk 11,000 to grow cotton in each bigha of land.

"Last year, I sold cotton at Tk 2,400 a maund. This year, I am selling it at Tk 3,600. We are benefiting from the higher yield and price," Ali said.

Thanks to the higher price, he plans to cultivate the crop on eight bighas of land in 2023.

Abdur Rahman, another farmer in the same village, received 18 maunds of cotton from 1.5 bighas of land this year. The production cost was Tk 17,000 in total. He has sold the crop at Tk 3,600 per maund.

He thanked the CDB for helping farmers to secure bank loans at a lower interest rate and extending assistance to grow the crop.

Rahman has also decided to expand cotton cultivation to five bighas next year.

Nazrul Islam, a farmer in Barabari village of Lalmonirhat sadar upazila, had given up cotton cultivation as it did not fetch the expected profit. Now he has decided to return to cotton farming from next year as the price has gone up.

Azizul Haque, a cotton grower in Kurashaferua village in Phulbari upazila, says they had not been able to make much of a profit from cotton cultivation in the past, but they are benefiting from the higher price this year.

He has produced 21 maunds of cotton on two bighas at a cost of Tk 22,000. He has sold 15 maunds of the crop.

"If the price remains at the higher level, many farmers will be interested in cotton cultivation and will be able to play a key role in meeting the demand of the item in the country."

Bangladesh managed to produce nearly 1.76 lakh bales of cotton in the fiscal year of 2020-21, which is marginally down from 1.77 lakh bales the previous year, CDB data showed.

Local production accounts for nearly one per cent of the total annual consumption of the key textile raw material of 90 lakh bales. So, the rest of the demand is met through imports, costing Bangladesh about Tk 30,000 crore annually.

Lutfar Rahman, cotton unit officer of the CDB in Rangpur, says both cotton production and prices have increased.

"Farmers are keen on cultivating the crop thanks to the bank loan facility. We have also extended assistance to farmers on farming methods as well as technical support."

According to the official, the Rangpur region has a huge potential to grow cotton. "So, we are urging farmers to cultivate it," he said, adding that cultivation of cotton increases the fertility of the land.

Md Fazle Rabbi, chief of the CDB in Rangpur, says currently cotton farming is profitable, so farmers are interested.

"There is a possibility that cotton acreage will expand manifold next year. If cultivation goes up, the reliance on cotton imports will decrease and this will benefit the country and the farmers."