Mangos' appearing in Rajshahi markets plenty

In the wake of lifting ban on harvesting mango till May 25, mango, the juicy and delicious fruit of the summer season, has appeared plenty in the markets of Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj districts, famous for the juicy summer fruit, for the last couple of days. 

Two major varieties- Gopalbhog and Khirsapat- along with some other indigenous varieties have appeared in the markets catching eyes of the commoners but most of them are being frustrated with the high price. 

Like the previous year, a ban had also been imposed on mango harvesting and marketing in the districts till May 25 to give optimum time for natural ripening. 

Concerned district administrations have taken the decision due to artificially ripening of immature mango through mixing harmful chemicals and marketing those frequently which creates grave concern among the consumers in general across the country. 

Kazi Ashraf Uddin, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Rajshahi, said the district administration has adopted various awareness measures to resist the chemically tainted mango. Already, 800-kg of carbide-mixed mangoes were destroyed in different places in the district.

The popular summer fruit will be available in the local markets by mid June abundantly when all the varieties will appear in the markets.

However, mango production is likely to suffer a setback in the two districts this year as immature mangoes are falling off trees due to unfavourable weather in the region for long.

This year the production of mangoes is likely to decrease to some extent as a remarkable number of mango trees in mango orchards have no fruits on them. Even the trees those borne mangoes last year are showing remarkably less yield. 

Expressing apprehension a number of growers said despite massive sprouting in the very beginning of the season, production of mango might fall this year due to scanty rainfall coupled with norwester and hailstorm which caused massive dropping of growing mangoes. 

Most of the mango orchard owners in the districts lease out the orchards to middlemen for one to five years. However, ownership of the trees remains with the orchards. 

According to the same sources, there are 22,82,930 mango trees on around 28,000 hectares of land in the region, said Fazlur Rahman, Additional Director of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE)in Rajshahi.

Last year two lakh tonnes of mangoes was produced from 20 lakh trees on 25,000 hectares of land, he added. The region has a long tradition of producing more than 150 varieties of high quality tasty mangoes including langra, fazli, lakhna and khirsapat. 

A large number of people are engaged in different jobs, from nursing to harvesting and packing, during the mango season every year.

This two districts produces mango worth over Tk 1,500 crore every year, said Md Muniruzzaman, President of Rajshahi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Mango is an important agricultural item in the region as income and livelihood of a large number of people is heavily dependent on its cultivation, said farmers, traders and agriculture officials.

Source: BSS.