JHAPA: Bananas worth Rs 10,590,800 were sold from the Birtamod Agricultural Wholesale Market in a month.
Farmers from Danabari and Mahamai in Ilam, as well as Khudunabari, Shanishchare, Mechinagar, and Bhadrapur in Jhapa, bring their bananas here for sale.
Maya Rajbanshi, Assistant Statistics Officer of the Agricultural Market Management Committee, said that 19,256 households sold bananas at an average rate of Rs 550 per household during the Dashain, Tihar, and Chhath festivals.
According to her, Malbhok, Bhandari, Jahji, and Chinichampa varieties of bananas are sent from Birtamod to Biratnagar, Janakpur, Kathmandu, and other places, priced between Rs 300 and Rs 800 per unit. She added that banana sales peak during the Chhath festival, surpassing sales during Dashain and Tihar.
The wholesale market, a major trading hub, also has a laboratory that tests pesticides in agricultural products from hilly districts including Taplejung, Panchthar, and Ilam.
Rajbanshi noted that only products deemed safe after pesticide testing—including fruits and vegetables—are allowed for sale in the market.
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