Swarupkathi timber trade sees Tk 1,000 cr annual sales

Staff Correspondent, Barishal: The timber tradescentrein Swarupkathi of Nesarabadupazila hub see as high as Tk 1,000 crore in annual trade and provides employment for more than 50,000 people.
The timber trade that has been running on the banks of the Sandhya river in Nesarabad upazila of Pirojpur for hundreds of year has emerged as the largest hub for woods in Bangladesh.
Woods worth more than Tk 500 crore are sold every year from the wholesale hub and the activity has become the mainstay of the local economy.
Traders, buyers and government officials say the timber business is the country’s largest wood trading hub thanks to lower price, availability, higher quality and water connectivity.
Traders say although the timber business in the area has been going on for more than a hundred years, the main centre on the banks of the Sandhya has been established about 70 years ago.

Woods also come from various districts of the Barishal division alongside neighbouring Bagerhat and Khulna districts.
The local timbers are sent to Dhaka, Sylhet, Kishoreganj and Narsingdi through cargo vessels and trawlers. Every day, at least four cargo vessels carry 25,000 to 30,000 cubic feet of wood worth Tk 2 crore.
About1000 traders are engaged in the business in Swarupkathi. Besides, there are at least 5,000 workers involved in various stages of the trade, including loading and unloading.
The timber business has expanded to other parts of the upazila and at least 50,000 people are involved in this profession, said a source of local administration.
“It is the main economic activity of Nesarabad.” Ruhul Amin, another trader, says the main timber comes from raintree, chambal and mahogany trees.
Mahogany is sold at a price of Tk 2,500 per CFT, raintree at Tk 1000 and chambal tree at Tk 600.
There are 91 factories in the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) area under the upazila, according to Nesarabad BSCIC Industrial City Office.
Of them, 40 are involved in the trading of timber products. At least 2,200 workers are employed there, he said.
There are also about 50 sawmills, hundreds of furniture shops, four or five cricket bat factories, and a variety of wood-based factories in the upazila, the source said.
Moniruzzaman, upazila nirbahi officer of Nesarabad, says the government gets revenue of about Tk 70 lakh every year from one point of the Sandhya.
There are 15 other timber trading spots in the upazila, including Swarupkathi Pilot High School, Akolom, Jagannathkathi, Mahmudkathi and Inderhat, said a timber trader in Sutiakathi union under the upazila.