After almost a decade, the price of the cardamom increased in Zhemgang. A kilogram of cardamom now fetches around Nu 800. And with the demand continuing to increase, the cardamom growers in Zhemgang are elated.
During the day, Sha Bdr Mongar, 36, picks up cardamom from his cardamom yard in Wangdigang village in Trong Gewog.
And at night, fighting the cold, Sha Bdr along with his wife segregate cardamom capsules. Sometimes, the segregation process takes the whole night. Only then, they are able to supply the cardamom on time.
He then dries cardamom at the optimum temperature and humidity to preserve the quality of the produce. It takes about five to seven days to dry the cardamom.
But until now, his blistering hard work never paid off.
He said, “Before the price was only about Nu 450 per kg but this time, it fetched up to Nu 795 per kilogram. There are lots of demand. The Gelephu FCBL buyers offered to pay us in advance also. But we didn’t accept it.”
“The cardamom work is very difficult and if you know the proper ways, it’s fine. Otherwise, it’s painful.”
Just about a decade ago, Sha Bdr switched to growing cardamom. Although cardamom became to lucrative cash crop to farmers in other parts of the country, the prices dropped in his place.
“Ten years before, I bought a small land here. I have around two acres and 80 decimal plot. We can’t work on agriculture produce. We solely depend on cardamom. Annually, I used to earn around Nu 200,000 to 300,000 every year. And this time, the price is going up,” added Sha Bdr.
This year, Sha Bdr Mongar has sold about 1,000 kilograms of cardamom and earned around Nu 700,000. Other cardamom growers in Zhemgang shared the same view.
They said the Food Corporation of Bhutan’s buyback system has helped them fetch high prices by increasing the competition amongst the buyers.
Pema Samdrup, Zhemgang
Edited by Sangay Chezom
