Badamtali

Badamtali a wholesale fruit market in Dhaka developed on the bank of the river buriganga on a wide area extending from Badamtali to Wiseghat. In 1935, Mr. Hasan Ali Dali and four or five other traders started using this place for wholesale trading fruits. Until 1971, local seasonal fruits and some other fruits from West Pakistan were sold here. After independence, many changes have taken place in the scope of the market. New traders have started joining in fruit trade in the market and the size of the market also expanded. At present, there are approximately 250 adatdar operating in the market. They transact business mainly through intermediaries.

Both local and imported fruits of various types are sold here. India is the largest source of imported fruits, which include oranges, apples, grapes, pomegranates and mangos. Imports were also made from Bhutan (oranges), Dubai (date, raisin, walnut, pistachio and monacca) and Pakistan (grapes). In addition, apples are now imported from Australia and America in large amounts. Fruits are transported from India and Bhutan in trucks while fruits from other countries are imported through ships and airplanes. In the past, the fruits market at Badamtali suffered from lack of storage facilities, but now substantial improvement has taken place after development of cold storage plants at Badamtali, Tikatuli and Munshiganj. Fruits are sold in the market on a wholesale basis. Usually apples are sold in boxes (each containing 20 kg), grapes in cartoons (each containing 4 kg) and other fruits on the basis of weight (kg). The daily sales turnover of fruits in the market is between Tk. 15 million and Tk. 20 million. [Md Masudur Rahman]