Mango growers in Chatmohar and some other upazilas of Pabna district have started selling local varieties of raw mangoes straight from the trees. Mango traders are collecting mangoes from the trees and selling these to Haripur, which is Chatmohar's mango wholesale market. These mangoes are going to different districts of the country from the storehouse of Haripur.
It has been found that every year in the month of Baisakh, the wholesale market of Haripur's mangoes becomes crowded. Mangoes come from Chatmohar, Bhangura, Faridpur, Atgharia in Pabna, Gurdaspur in Natore, Baraigram, Tarash area in Sirajganj to the wholesale markets of Haripur. The traders buy these mangoes and send them to different districts of the country including Dhaka. Untimely picking of mangoes from undersized immature mango trees is likely to disrupt production this year. Orchard owners are facing lose as they sell unripe mangoes in the hope of cash. But the agents and wholesalers are benefiting from it.
According to the sources of Chatmohar Agriculture Office, different varieties of mangoes have been planted in 280 hectares of land in Chatmohar this season. Average yield potential is 16 MT per hectare. Accordingly, Chatmohar has the potential to produce 4 thousand 480 metric tons of mangoes.
Mango farmers said that different good varieties of mangoes are sold by orchard owners. Many garden mangoes are fertilized and sold to traders. However, many mango farmers sell the local variety of mangoes raw without ripening. During the month of Baisakh-Jaistha, every day from noon to night, hundreds of tons of raw mangoes are bought and sold in various markets of Haripur market.
Akbar Ali of Dhulawuri Kuthipara village said that the local variety of mangoes are often sour so we sell them raw. This year I sold a mango tree for 4 thousand one hundred taka. Feroza Parveen of Dolong village said that mangoes are falling due to extreme heat this year. Expected yield does not seem to be possible.
Tofazzal Hossain, the owner of Ma Babar Doa Fol Bhandar, said that raw mangoes have been sold in the wholesale markets here since the middle of April and these are sold until the end of July. But after a few days, ripe mangoes will be sold along with raw mangoes. He said that mangoes come from remote areas of Chatmohar, Bhangura, Faridpur, Atgharia and Baraigram upazilas of South Chalanbil area. Most mangoes are produced in Kazirhat of Pabna along with Parsudanga, Bangram, Suigram, Hadal, Baoikola, Jonail, Garfa, Chandai in this area. At least five thousand people are directly and indirectly involved in mango trade. In other years, hundreds of trucks of mangoes from Chatmohar have been sent to different parts of the country including Dhaka.
At present, raw mangoes are being sold from Tk 900 to Tk 1100 per maund. Now the mangoes that are being collected are being sent to Dhaka. Agents supply mangoes to the wholesale market by taking advance money from the vendors. Mango buying and selling will start properly after Ramadan Eid.
In this regard, Chatmohar Upazila Agriculture Officer Masum Billah said that different varieties of mangoes are cultivated in 280 hectares of land in Chatmohar. Many times mangoes are attacked by insects, rotted, storms and hailstorms also cause extensive damage to mangoes. So maybe orchard owners are selling mangoes in hope of cash. It is feared that the production will be disrupted.