International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences 2013; 1(3): 159-165 Published online July 20, 2013 (http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/ijefm) doi: 10.11648/j.ijefm.20130103.15 Production and profitability of banana in Bangladesh-an economic analysis Abu Zafar Ahmed Mukul 1 , Md. Arafat Rahman 2, * 1 Lecturer, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh 2 Research Associate, Implementation of Monitoring and Evaluation for IFC (World Bank Group) at A. D. S. L., Bangladesh Email address: mukul_mgt@yahoo.com(A. Z. A. Mukul), arahman4@isrt.ac.bd(M. A. Rahman) To cite this article: Abu Zafar Ahmed Mukul, Md. Arafat Rahman. Production and Profitability of Banana in Bangladesh-An Economic Analysis. International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences. Vol. 1, No. 3, 2013, pp. 159-165. doi: 10.11648/j.ijefm.20130103.15 Abstract: Banana production provides suitable options for subsistence and income generation in Bangladesh. It is a commercial fruit, but in context of Bangladesh, it is grown in limited area commercially. Inadequate marketing system in this sector affect the income of the producers and its trading which also limit the expansion of banana production in our country. We are trying to determine relative profitability of banana in Narsingdhi during the period January to March, 2013. In this study we investigate total cost, profit and benefit cost ratio for different marketing channel like banana producers, wholesalers and retailers. Profit for producer, wholesaler and retailer in banana production were Tk. 55002.8 per Hectare, Tk. 59.08 per Chari, and Tk. 122.67 per Chari respectively and benefit cost ratio for producers, wholesalers and retailers were 1.40, 1.30 and 1.41 respectively. We have also followed Cobb-Douglas production model was used to determine the contribution of some important inputs like land preparation, fertilizer, irrigation, insecticides, sucker and labor cost to production of banana. We also investigate to explore the problems of producing banana and offer suggestion for possible improvement in the existing marketing system. Keywords: Banana Production, Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR), Cobb-Douglas Function, Economic Profit, Narsingdhi District 1. Introduction Bangladesh is an agricultural country. More than 80% people directly or indirectly depends on agriculture. About 19.29% of GDP is derived from agriculture in fiscal year 2011-12 (BBS-2012). About 35,000 children become blind each year due to Vitamin-A deficiency. The common deficient nutrients of Bangladesh are Vitamin-A and Vitamin-C, riboflavin, folic acid etc. banana, tomato and cauliflower are the most in expensive and rich sources of those nutrients. In Bangladesh banana is the only fruit crop, which is available throughout the year and consumption rate is also higher than any other fruits. It has been associated with man for centuries and many people consider the banana as on off man’s finest fruit. Banana is delicious fruit crop gross widely all over Bangladesh and most important fruit in the country from the stand point of food value and availability, throughout the year (USAID, 1969). Major Districts of cultivated Banana are Narsingdi, Gazipur, Rangpur, Bogra, Nator, Pabna, Noakhali, Faridpur, Khulna in our country. Districts of wild grown Banana are Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Netrokona, Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Bandarban; Generally banana plants are found throughout the country in most of the rural homesteads. There are a number of banana cultivars in Bangladesh. Among them, BARI Kola-1, Amritsagar, Sabri, Champa and Kabri are the commercial cultivars. The other cultivars are Mehersagar, Dudsagar, Agniswar, Genasundari, Kanaibanshi, Basrai, Binisuta, etc. In Bangladesh, total estimated production of banana was 801000 metritons and cultivated area is 131 acres in 2010-11. The annual production of banana in our country for different year has been shown below: