In the last leg of over one and half months long brisk business of mango, trading of Fazly, king of mango, has gained momentum in Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj districts, famous for mango production throughout the country.
The businessmen are now getting the optimum price of Fazli mango as all other mango varieties have almost disappeared from the market. The traders and growers are also highly satisfied with the outputs, despite the present novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“Now, we are selling Fazly mango after ending most of the conventional varieties like Gopalbhog and Khirsapat,” said Shafiqul Islam, a retailer of Shaheb Bazar Mango Market. There are two other varieties, Langra and Amrupaly, in limited scale in the market at present, he added.
Fazli mango is being sold at Taka 2400 to Taka 2600 per mound according to size and quality at many of the markets like Shaheb Bazar, Baneshwar, Charghat and Bagha of Rajshahi and Sadar, Moharajpur, Ranihati, Kansat, Mobarakpur, Chowdala, Rohanpur, Mallikpur and Vholahat in Chapapainawabganj.
In addition to creating employment for over one and half lakh people, a transaction of more than Taka 1,500 crore has been done centering the mango farming, trading and transporting during the peak season.
At present, if any one visits the two districts he or she will see mango and its vending and many people and the visitors in particular purchase the delicious fruit whatever the price is.
Likewise, large numbers of people are seen engaged in creating new mango orchards on the cultivable lands in the vast Barind tract and char areas.
Sudhendra Nath Roy, additional director of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), said there are more than 2.60 lakh mango growers and orchard owners in the region comprising Rajshahi, Chapainawabgonj, Natore and Naogaon districts.
Around 1.30 lakh people are engaged in various activities related to mango harvesting, segregating, packaging, transporting and marketing.
He added that the DAE has set a target of harvesting around ten lakh tonnes of mangoes from 80,360 hectares of land in the region this season while last year’s production was 8,31,940 tonnes from 72,909 hectares of land.
Nurul Islam, a wholesaler of Kansat, said the mango will be available till mid of the next month.
Mango of Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj is conventionally late ripening and the growers can also preserve their fruits on trees for long so the farmers and businessmen get higher prices.
Mango is an important seasonal cash crop in northwestern Bangladesh, especially Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj and Naogaon. Every season, a large number of people are involved in various types of work in the areas. “It creates job opportunities for many people and they can earn some extra money,” said Shamsul Haque, Deputy Director of DAE.
“Mango brings money to all sections of people in Baneshwar,” said mango trader Shariful Islam, adding that even a labourer earns Tk 500 to Tk 1,000 per day during the season.
Meanwhile, trading of mango through online has gained a peak everywhere in the region benefitting both the sellers and buyers amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Many of the young entrepreneurs in the region are selling mango through online after the best uses of facebook and WhatsApp like various social media.
For the first time, the West Zone of Bangladesh Railway has launched a special parcel train on Chapainawabgonj-Dhaka route via Rajshahi for transporting mangoes to Dhaka at a lower cost for welfare of the mango traders and farmers amid the Covid-19 pandemic situation.
The cargo train is carrying a maximum 225 tonnes of mangoes in six wagons every day. So, farmers and traders can transport goods at their will. It costs Tk 1.17 to carry a kilogram of mango to Dhaka from Rajshahi. And it is Tk 1.30 from Chapainawabganj to Dhaka.
