In the vegetable-rich region of Jessore Sadar Upazila, at the wholesale markets of Churamankati and Barinagar Satmile, cauliflower prices have plummeted, and buyers are not even glancing at the produce. On Friday morning, announcements were made via loudspeakers in the Churamankati wholesale market, urging farmers not to bring cauliflowers to the market. On the same day, cauliflowers were being sold at wholesale prices of 1 to 5 taka per piece, while retail prices in local markets were 8 taka per piece. In larger retail markets in Jessore city, the price was 10 taka per piece. Farmers and buyers allege that manipulative tactics by traders are causing financial losses for both growers and consumers.

Farmers reported that there has been no demand for cauliflower in the wholesale market for a week. Even when they brought hundreds of cauliflowers to the market, they couldn’t fetch a fair price. Traders showed no interest in buying the produce, forcing farmers to sell them at extremely low rates of 50 paisa to 1-2 taka per piece after hours of waiting. As a result, many are unable to cover the cost of transportation and labor. Some farmers are now reluctant to bring cauliflowers to the market, saying they might as well feed the produce to livestock like goats and cows.

Farmers Shafiqul Islam and Mintu Hossain shared that on Friday morning, there was no demand for cauliflower in the wholesale market. Although farmers brought their produce, buyers didn’t even look at it. By 10 a.m., announcements were made on behalf of wholesalers asking farmers not to bring cauliflowers to the market. Farmers like Abul Kalam, Shahidul Islam, and Abed Ali expressed confusion about why cauliflower prices suddenly dropped in the wholesale market.

They suspect that wholesalers are manipulating the market to deprive farmers of fair prices. The farmers believe that a syndicate of wholesalers has artificially reduced prices to maximize their profits. A significant price gap exists between wholesale and retail markets. A visit to Churamankati and Satmile’s retail markets revealed that cauliflowers were being sold for 8 taka per piece, while in Jessore city’s large market, the price was 10 taka per piece.

Retail seller Abdur Rashid claimed that he only sells fresh cauliflowers. He speculated that low-quality cauliflowers might be priced at 1 taka in the wholesale market, while he bought better-quality produce at higher prices, hence selling them at a slightly higher rate. Meanwhile, wholesaler Sanowar Hossain explained that people are no longer interested in eating cauliflower, leading to reduced demand in the market. This is why wholesalers are not purchasing cauliflowers and have asked farmers via loudspeakers not to bring them to the market.

Affected vegetable farmers argue that there is still significant demand for cauliflower in retail markets. They accuse wholesalers of manipulation, claiming that while cauliflowers sell for 8 to 10 taka in retail, they are deemed worthless in the wholesale market. The farmers allege that the syndicate of wholesalers is intentionally refusing to buy cauliflowers, forcing them to sell at throwaway prices.