Bangladesh faces a setback in cumin cultivation

On February 22, 2022, the Spices Research Centre (SRC) in Bogura's Shibganj upazila released the first type of cumin for commercial production, reducing Bangladesh's reliance on imports of the spice. Farmers, on the other hand, are frustrated since rain and fog have already damaged nearly half of the crops being planted on a trial basis. According to SRC experts, the BARI Jira-1 variety of cumin was developed after 12 years of intensive research by the SRC, a department of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute. Farmers may cultivate BARI Jira-1, the SRC's first fully developed cumin, in sandy loam soils. According to Chattogram customs, 20,602 MT of the spice were imported for around $38 million through Chattogram port in the fiscal year 2020-21, 15% down from 24,232 tonnes in the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, 4,223 tonnes of cumin worth roughly $8 million were imported. Cumin is also brought in via various routes, such as land ports.