Production and Profitability of Banana in Bangladesh-An Economic Analysis

Abstract

Banana production provides suitable options for subsistence and income generation in Bangladesh. It is a commercial fruit, but in context of Bangladesh, it is grown in limited area commercially. Inadequate marketing system in this sector affect the income of the producers and its trading which also limit the expansion of banana production in our country. We are trying to determine relative profitability of banana in Narsingdhi during the period January to March, 2013. In this study we investigate total cost, profit and benefit cost ratio for different marketing channel like banana producers, wholesalers and retailers. Profit for producer, wholesaler and retailer in banana production were Tk. 55002.8 per Hectare, Tk. 59.08 per Chari, and Tk. 122.67 per Chari respectively and benefit cost ratio for producers, wholesalers and retailers were 1.40, 1.30 and 1.41 respectively. We have also followed Cobb-Douglas production model was used to determine the contribution of some important inputs like land preparation, fertilizer, irrigation, insecticides, sucker and labor cost to production of banana. We also investigate to explore the problems of producing banana and offer suggestion for possible improvement in the existing marketing system.