A Chuadanga market just for patali gur

It’s a distinct sugary sweetness hanging in the air that gives away what’s in store at Sarojganj Haat. Sitting Fridays and Mondays year-round, the market is now hustling and bustling with activity from noon and into the night. Traders sit surrounded by thillas (clay pots) and dhamas (rattan baskets), all filled with a single product that draws thousands from far and near, much like bees to honey. It’s the peak season for patali gur (molasses from date palm sap).  

The market sits right at the centre of Chuadanga district, home to some 2.5 lakh date palm trees. Tapping for its sap is conducive only in winter, meaning the practice of heating the sweet drink to the sucrose concentrate goes on for just around three months.

A healthy tree generates around 12 kilogrammes of sap every season. The concentrate goes for Tk 80,000 to Tk 85,000 per tonne, which the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) believes enables seasonal sales of Tk 24 to Tk 25 crore at the market in Kutubpur union.

This year around 3,000 tonnes of the molasses are expected to be produced in the district, a 400-tonne increase from that last year.

This year the influx of buyers and traders has caused the market, the size of a football field, to spill over to an adjacent school’s playground. Customers go round scrutinising the molasses, available as a gooey liquid and in a more concentrated form of solid bars.

The thillas are in 10 kg and 15-16 kg capacities, going for Tk 800-850 and Tk 1,200 respectively while the solid molasses sell for Tk 120-130 per kilogramme. When both sides settle on a price, the containers are taken to one side of the market and marked so as to make it easy to quickly find it later.

The flow of cash prompts people to purchase small household items at the market for family members back home. The mood is festive, made more enjoyable by vendors selling cakes made from the sap and molasses.

Mobarak Hossain of Sarojganj village was content with the market prices. A wholesaler, he had taken lease of 200 date palm trees this year. “Demand for Sarojganj’s molasses is increasing every year,” he said.

Ali Hossain Zilani came from Manikganj to make his annual purchases. He goes on to sell those in different markets in Dhaka. “Chuadanga molasses have good demand in Dhaka’s market,” he said.

Stating that Chuadanga’s soil and weather are favourable for producing the molasses, Ali Hasan, deputy director of the DAE in Chuadanga, said they would boost production by encouraging plantations and ensuring hygiene.