BSS, Rajshahi :
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 in the country.
The businessmen are now getting 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.
“Now, we are selling Fazly mango after ending most of the conventional varieties like Gopalbhog and Khirsapat,” said Anisur Rahman, a retailer of Seroil Bus Stand 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, Mollikpur and Vholahat in Chapapainawabganj.
In addition to creating employment for over one and half lakh people, 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 purchasing 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.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), there are around 19 lakh mango trees on 25,000 hectares of land in the two districts.
Additional director of DAE, Rajshahi Deb Dulal Dhali told BSS that every of the mango trees were bloomed immensely this season but some of those were affected due to adverse weather. DAE had set a target of production of 2.5 lakh tonnes of mango in this season.
Around 250 trucks are now transporting mangoes to different areas of the country especially Dhaka, Chittagong, Chowmohani, Narayanganj, Cumilla and Feni.
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 price.
He said the amount of mango mixed with carbide and other harmful chemicals has been reduced to a greater extent this season for punitive measures and surveillance by the law enforcement agencies.
But, he opined that the climate change has created a bad impact on the mango trees.
Mozammel Hossain Tutul, General Secretary of Volahat Mango Foundation, informed that huge quantity of mango gets damaged every year due to lack of processing and preservation facilities here.
In this context, he said additional employment scopes could be created if processing factory is established.
Mango is an important seasonal cash crop in northwestern Bangladesh, especially Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj. Every season, a large number of people are involved in various types of works in the areas. “It creates job opportunities for many people and they can earn some extra money,” said Monzurul Huda, 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.
