Kathmandu. Banana producers in Kailali and Kanchanpur district have urged the government to make market monitoring effective, citing unusual price hike in the market.

At a joint press conference organized by the Banana Producers Association, Kailali and Banana Producers and Entrepreneurs Association, Kanchanpur, here today, representatives of these associations urged the government to regulate the price of bananas as they are being sold at Rs 60 to Rs 65 per dozen in the market.

KATHMANDU: The Association has thanked the federal government for banning the import of banana saplings and fruits from India. “I believe that the government’s decision will contribute positively to banana production, farmers’ welfare and national agricultural security,” he said. “We urge the government bodies concerned to carry out effective market monitoring, black marketeering, artificial shortage and unjustified price hike so as to protect the interest of both farmers and consumers,” reads the press release today.

The Association has also made public the recommended price of raw bananas to be sold from the plantations of Kailali and Kanchanpur districts. Accordingly, the government has fixed Rs 55-65 per dozen from mid-August to mid-October, Rs 45-50 from mid-November to mid-November and Rs 30-35 from mid-January to mid-January. The price for the period from February to July will be determined from the next joint meeting after evaluating production, market condition and demand-supply.

Chairperson of the Association, Kailali, Dipendra Tharu, urged all farmers, traders and stakeholders to help in the implementation of the fixed price of the plantation.

According to the Agriculture Census 2068/69, banana is cultivated on around 2,004 hectares of land in the Sudurpaschim Province and around 72,449 metric tons annually and banana is cultivated in around 1,850 hectares of land in Kailali and 610 hectares in Kanchanpur.