Mangoes of C'nawabganj to hit market at the end of this month

Mangoes from Chapainawabganj, a major mango-producing region of the country, will soon be arriving in markets as the mango farmers and traders are preparing to sell and buy the delicious fruit.

Chapainawabganj is popular as the district of the country's mango capital. Mangoes of various varieties have started to ripen. Extensive care is being taken in the mango orchards of the district during the season.

Already, two or three types of small-sized mangoes have started coming to the market. 

However, farmers and traders said that ripe mangoes will hit the market in the last week of this month. 

This time too, the administration has not fixed the mango calendar. The administration has made it clear that marketing unripe mangoes will be strictly suppressed. 

Ripon Ahmed, a mango farmer of Chakkarti union in Shibganj upazila of the district, said the mangoes will start ripening in a week. Some varieties of mangoes, including Gopalbhog, will ripen in the last week of May. Some more varieties of mangoes will come to the market in the second week of June.

Kamal, a mango farmer from Nachol upazila, said that due to less rain this year, irrigation costs have increased. Due to adverse weather conditions, more pesticides have to be applied, so if the price of mangoes decreases or if the weather is unfavorable, there will be losses. 

Meanwhile, gardeners are preparing to harvest mangoes in the district. There is a lot of activity going on in the district around the mango season. The market authorities are also making their advance preparations. Traders from different districts have already started contacting the traders in Kansat, the country's largest mango market. 

Meanwhile, district agricultural marketing officers and traders see the possibility of a mango trade of about Taka 2,000 crore this season in the district. 

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), 37,504 hectares of land have been brought under mango cultivation in the district this year with the production target of 10.3 tonnes of mangoes per hectare of land.

Deputy Director of the DAE Dr. Md. Yasin Ali said the garden owners are expecting to produce about four lakh metric tons of mangoes in the current mango season. 

These mangoes will be sold at an average price of Taka 50 per kilogram (Kg). Based on this calculation, a mango trade of about Taka 200 crore is expected this year.