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Old Dhaka’s Badamtoli has become the country’s largest wholesale fruit market, with fruits worth about Tk 40 crore selling at the market a day.

The market, where fruits, mainly apples, oranges, grapes and pineapples are sold, awakens to the rumble of trucks loaded with fruits, the calls of porters and the aroma of fresh fruits early hours every day.

From Wiseghat to Babubazar Bridge, both sides of the road remain packed with trucks loaded with fruits, while the air hums with the sounds of buyers and sellers.

From about 1:00am, fruit-laden vehicles from Chattogram port, Benapol in Jashore, Hili in Dinajpur, Bhomra in Satkhira, and Burimari in Lalmonirhat begin to arrive at the market.

The trading begins at about 6:30am and continues till noon, with hundreds of buyers crowding the market for auctions of fruits.

Before sunrise, porters move swiftly, unloading basket after basket from trucks, turning the narrow streets into a stream of colour and motion.

At Badamtoli, both local and imported fruits are available at significantly lower prices — wholesale or retail.

Ranjan Saha, owner of Messrs RS Enterprise, who has been doing business at Badamtoli for the past 13 years, said that during the peak season, the line of trucks sometimes was extended all the way to Sadarghat.

He added that although trading was relatively slow now, sales rose sharply during the season.

‘At times, business becomes so hectic that we have to hire extra people just to keep records,’ he said, adding that he mainly imported oranges, apples and pomegranates.

Importers bring fruits from over 30 countries, including India, China, Brazil, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, South Africa, Pakistan, Bhutan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Most of the imports enter through the Chattogram port.

The imported varieties of apples, oranges, grapes, pomegranates and pears dominate the market.

Locally grown fruits such as guavas, pineapples, bananas and dragon fruit also find their place at the market. The fruits are supplied mainly from Satkhira, Naogaon, Jhalkathi, Firozpur, Tangail and the hill districts.

Among the leading importers are Haji Sirajul Islam, Alamin Molla, Nesar Uddin, Haji Afsar Uddin, Haji Barat Mia and Royal Fresh Fruits.

Nasir Hossain, chief marketing officer of Rizvi Fruits Limited, who has been working at the market for 18 years, said that each truck carried goods worth at least Tk 35-40 lakh, with about 100 trucks offloading goods at the market daily.

‘That means that the trading of fruits worth Tk 40 crore takes place here every day,’ he said.

At auctions, China oranges sell at Tk 240–250 a kilogram, South African pomegranates at Tk 400 a kilogram, malta at Tk 220 a kilogram and apples Tk 220-230 a kilogram at the market.

Standing near an auction point, Arif Hasan, a retail fruit vendor from Keraniganj of Dhaka, said, ‘If you buy fruits from here, you can get those at lower prices than anywhere else in the country.’

Rows of coconuts at Wiseghat also draw attention. A vendor said a lot of 100 coconuts was sold at the market at Tk 6,000 – Tk 10,000, depending on size.

For some traders, however, not every deal turns profitable. A wholesaler from Mirpur, who bought three crates of malta, opened one and found four of five kilograms of rotten fruit inside. ‘It happens quite often,’ he said. ‘When too much rotten fruits turn up, we barely make a profit.’

The bustling trade sustains hundreds of labourers. Rifat Mia, a porter from Barishal, has been working at the market for eight years. ‘We get Tk 30 for each carton we unload. On a good day, I earn about Tk 600–700,’ he said.

Mahin Hossain, a National University student, has been learning the family trade for over a year and a half. ‘My father and uncles used to run the business together. My father stopped coming here due to incurring losses. Now I’m learning the trade from my uncles,’ he said.

Madina Enterprise, owned by an Awami League leader, was once among the top importers at the market. A worker said that their business had slowed briefly after the fall of the Awami League government on August 5 past year in a mass uprising, but later bounced back.

The market’s committee has reportedly been inactive since the political changeover.

‘After the fall of AL government, the committee was dissolved. Now there’s no formal management in charge,’ said wholesale trader Rasel.

Truck drivers and helpers said that they now paid only the regular toll to market leaseholders and no extra fees.

According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, a US-based IT services company, Bangladesh imported fruits worth $486 million in 2023, making the country the 46th largest importer of these products in global trade out of 226 countries.

In 2023, Bangladesh imported mainly fruits, nuts, and fruit shells from China ($180 million), South Africa ($76.9m), India ($57.1m), and Egypt ($54.9m).

The Yearbook of Agricultural Statistics-2023 of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics reported that domestic fruit production reached 56.59 lakh tonnes in 2023.

Among the fruits, pineapples accounted for 1,96,735.74 tonnes, guavas 2,56,105.56 tonnes, bananas 8,40,362.67 tonnes, and dragon fruit 5,959.29 tonnes.

Nearly 90 years old, Badamtoli market supplies a significant portion of the fruits not only to Dhaka but also to the other places across the country.