An intense heatwave is sweeping across Bangladesh, but its hot and thirsty inhabitants can quench their thirst with the popular "honey queen" pineapple variety. Though the peak time for harvest starts from late May or the first week of June, many farmers of Rangamati and Khagrachhari, and some of Moulvibazar have started picking it early to get a good price during Ramadan.
Harvesting has already started in Rangamati on a small scale since the middle of March, said Krishna Prasad Mallik, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in the district.
"We are getting on an average 24 tonnes of the fruit per hectare. This yield is comparatively good in this off-season. It will increase during the peak time," he told thedailystar.net.
Kazi Lutful Bari, deputy director of the DAE in Moulvibazar, said usually harvesting starts there around May and June. But considering the huge demand for this fruit during Ramadan, some farmers are harvesting a little in advance to get good prices, he added.
This year, the price is a bit higher compared to that last year due to high demand across the country, including the capital, during Ramadan and Covid-19 pandemic.