Shital pati price in Bangladesh (2026): sizes, Sylhet vs Barishal

How much does a shital pati cost in Bangladesh?

A good everyday shital pati costs ৳2,000 to ৳6,000 in 2026, depending on size and how fine the cane strips are. Village mats from Barishal, Tangail and Sirajganj start around ৳500 to ৳1,000, and a patterned nakshi pati woven to order in Moulvibazar can reach ৳25,000 to ৳30,000. For a bed mat that lasts, pay for fine, even strips in a 5 × 7 or 6 × 7 ft size.

Shital pati prices at a glance (2026)

Online prices are what the shops charged on the day we checked, often a sale price below a crossed-out "regular" one.

What sizes does shital pati come in?

Online shops sell by the foot, and village weavers often measure in haat (cubits, about 1.5 ft each).

• 3 × 5 ft: a sitting mat or a child's bed.
• 5 × 7 ft: the most common size online, ৳1,990 to ৳4,000 in October 2026.
• 6 × 7 ft: a fuller size for a bed or the floor, ৳2,590 for fine white strips at a Sylhet shop.
• About 76 × 100 in (6.3 × 8.3 ft): large patterned mats, ৳3,999 for a Sylhet-woven star pattern.
• Prayer mats and table mats are woven from the same cane and cost less.

The custom rate is a handy check. At ৳120 a square foot, a plain 5 × 7 ft mat (35 square feet) comes to ৳4,200. A much cheaper mat of the same size is coarser, from a lower-cost region, or on sale. Measure your bed or floor before you order: a size in feet is the only way to compare two prices.

Sylhet or Barishal: where does shital pati come from?

Mostly from the low, wet villages of greater Sylhet, where the murta cane grows best, with a second belt in the Barishal region and pockets in Tangail and Sirajganj.

• Sylhet and Moulvibazar. The craft's heartland: Rajnagar, Balaganj and Barlekha are the best-known weaving areas, and Dhulijura village in Rajnagar is famous for its weavers. This is where the patterned nakshi pati is made, priced at ৳4,000 to ৳6,000 for an ordinary mat and far more to order. About 4,000 families in 100 villages of Sylhet division once wove; a weaver estimated in 2021 that barely 1,000 still do.
• Barishal region. Weavers in Kawkhali (Pirojpur), Rajapur (Jhalokathi) and Bakerganj (Barishal) call the cane paitra. About 45 families in Kawkhali's Subidpur village still weave, selling mats for ৳600 to ৳3,000 depending on quality (2025). Rajapur's mats travel to summer fairs and to buyers in Chattogram and Sylhet.
• Tangail. Delduar and Kalihati upazilas had more than 5,000 weaving families; fewer than half remain. Mats there sold for ৳500 to ৳2,000 in 2024.
• Sirajganj. About 120 families in Chuniati and Jhaul Chandpur villages weave mats that sell for ৳1,000 to ৳5,000 (2026).

Which to buy? For a patterned mat or a gift, go to Moulvibazar and Sylhet. For an everyday plain mat, Barishal, Tangail and Sirajganj mats cost less and do the same job.

Shital pati weaving of Sylhet is on UNESCO's list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity (2017), and "Bangladesh Shital Pati" is one of the country's 64 registered Geographical Indication products (June 2026).

What is shital pati made of?

Strips of murta, a green cane that grows in low, damp land. The stems are cut when mature, soaked, split into thin strips and sometimes dyed, then woven by hand. Men usually prepare the cane and women do most of the weaving. The finished mat is smooth and stays cool to the touch, which is where the name comes from: shital means cool.

Why does one mat cost ৳1,000 and another ৳30,000?

Time, mostly. The finer the strips and the busier the pattern, the longer a mat takes.

• Weeks of weaving. An average-sized mat takes seven to 15 days in Sylhet, and a large one up to two months. A patterned mat four to five haat long takes 30 to 35 days in Rajnagar.
• Cane. In Pirojpur, 20 bundles of paitra cost over ৳7,000 in 2025 and make at most 25 mats, with about ৳6,000 more in other costs. Cane and dye for one patterned Rajnagar mat cost ৳1,000 to ৳1,200.
• Pattern and colour. Dyed strips are prepared separately and placed strip by strip by a skilled weaver.
• Finish. In Sirajganj, mats that sold for ৳1,000 to ৳1,500 sold for ৳3,000 to ৳4,000 after weavers were trained in finishing, according to the upazila rural development officer.

Little of the price reaches the weaver. A Sirajganj woman earns about ৳600 to ৳700 for a week's weaving (2026), and a Tangail weaver ৳200 to ৳250 for a mat that takes two or three days (2024).

Plain or nakshi pati: which should you buy?

Buy plain for everyday use and nakshi for a gift.

• Plain pati is woven in the cane's natural colour, sometimes with a simple border. It's the mat for a bed in summer or a floor where people sit, and it's cheaper to replace.
• Nakshi pati has a pattern woven in with dyed strips: flowers, birds, stars, a mosque or a name. Mats go by names such as Nakshi, Siki, Adhali, Taka, Nayantara, Asmantara and Chira, and patterned ones are often named for their picture: Asman Tara (star of the sky), Jamin Tara (star of the earth) or Taj Mahal.
• Heirloom mats were once decorated with silver or ivory. A richly ornamented 6 × 9 ft mat could take two to two and a half years.

A nakshi pati with the couple's names is a wedding gift no other guest will bring; order it a month or more ahead, since a patterned mat takes 30 to 35 days to weave. See our wedding gift ideas for more.

Where can you buy shital pati in Dhaka and online?

• Craft fairs in Dhaka. In July 2026, a three-day Shital Pati exhibition at Safiuddin Shilpalay in Dhanmondi brought Moulvibazar weavers and their mats, bags and sarees to the city, with mats at ৳1,000 to ৳6,000. A Sylhet seller sold twice as many mats as she expected at the 2021 SME Fair. Our craft fair calendar lists the fairs worth visiting.
• Online shops. Etthadi Kutir Shilpo, by the Shah Jalal shrine gate in Sylhet, sells 5 × 7 and 6 × 7 ft mats. Boyon Bitan in Dhaka weaves custom sizes. Buriganga Craft sells mats woven in Sylhet.
• Tangail. Makers sell table runners, trays and other shital pati pieces through Karu Angan.
• At the source. Buying in Sylhet, Moulvibazar or a Barishal village gets the weaver a bigger share.

Before you pay for a mat online, ask for the size in feet, a close-up photo of the strips and the district where it was woven.

How do you check a shital pati before you buy?

• Feel it. Murta is smooth and cool. Plastic mats look similar in photos and sell for as little as ৳100 to ৳150, so if the price looks like plastic, ask.
• Look at the strips. Fine, even strips (sellers say "chikon") mean more work and a smoother mat. Uneven widths and rough edges mean a coarser mat.
• Check the weave and border. The weave should be tight, with no gaps or loose ends, and the border firmly finished.
• In a patterned mat, check that the design lines up across the mat and the colours are crisp.

How do you care for a shital pati?

Keep it dry, and roll it rather than fold it.

• Wipe it with a damp cloth, or hand-wash it gently and on its own.
• Dry it completely before you roll it up. Mould grows when the air stays above about 60% humidity, which is most of the monsoon.
• Roll, don't fold. A sharp fold can crack dry cane strips.
• Store it off the floor in a dry, airy place, and unroll it on dry days during the rains.

Sending one abroad? A rolled pati travels well; see our guide to gifts from Bangladesh.