Bangladesh is hopeful of a Tk 12,000 crore market for mangoes this season as there has been a bumper yield of the delicious fruit in almost every district across the country.
Alongside the northern zone of the country, including Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj and Rangpur districts, mangoes are being cultivated hugely in the hilly districts of the country.
These hilly districts have become a new hope for the mango market as this fruit is also being cultivated there commercially.
According to sources, there is a potential of Tk 3000 crore in mango trade in three hill districts--Rangamati, Khagrachari and Bandarbans.
Besides, there is another potential of Tk 9,000 crore of mango trade in different districts of the country's northwestern zone, including Rajshahi, Naogaon, Chapainawabganj, Natore, Pabna, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Meherpur and Satkhira, this year.
Local sources said the farmers are happy because the mango yield is better this year in comparison to the previous year.
According to mango farmers, as per the 'Mango Calendar', they have already started harvesting mangoes from trees and selling the fruits.
Witnesses said that mangoes are being harvested from the trees at different orchards of Satkhira and Rangamati. These mangoes are being packed for the local markets. From there, these mangoes are going all over the country, including the capital Dhaka.
Mangoes will be exported abroad alongside meeting the demand of the country. Already 300 kgs of mangoes were exported to Italy last week.
Officials concerned said that due to insufficient rain in this season, mangoes are taking a little longer to ripen. Some varieties of mangoes will still take two to three weeks to ripen. However, they expect that the mango yield will exceed the target this time.
According to officials of the Directorate of Agricultural Extension in Rajshahi, mango trade last year was at around Tk 1,000 crore. But, hopefully, this year it will exceed Tk 1,500 crore.
They said last year mangoes were cultivated in 18,515 hectares of land in Rajshahi district. But, this year cultivation of mango has increased as this year mango has been cultivated in 19,578 hectares of land.
They expressed their hope saying that if the weather remains in favour, 2,58,000 metric tons of mangoes are expected to be produced this year.
According to Satkhira Agriculture Department, due to climatic and environmental reasons, mango ripens earlier in Satkhira than other districts. That's why mangoes from here started selling first in the market of the country.
According to the information of the District Agriculture Extension Department, mangoes have been cultivated in 4,115 hectares of land in the district this year. This district has a potential of Tk 225 crores of mango trade.
Rangamati district has also seen a bumper yield of mangoes this year.
According to the Rangamati District Agriculture Extension Department, this year the target for mango cultivation was fixed at 3,600 hectares and the target has been fulfilled properly.
The production target was fixed at 12 tonnes per hectare and this year production is expected to exceed the target. More than Tk 200 crore of mangoes will be sold in the district at the current market price. Now the local mangoes are coming to the market. Amrapali, Rupali, Fazli, Langra, Ranguai varieties of mangoes are not yet ripe.
Although the yield of ‘Potol’ mangoes is high in Rangpur region, many varieties of mangoes such as Fazli, Echahak, Chhaibuddin, Sada Langra, Kala Langra, Calcutta Langra, Mishribhog, Gopalbhog, Amrapali, Sadaruchi are being cultivated.
Among all the varieties of mangoes, the most demanded full one is 'Haribhanga' mango.
Mango farmers and traders said that they hope to sell mangoes worth Tk 220 to 250 crore this year. Chapainawabganj, the capital of mangoes, has a potential of Tk 240 crore in mango trade. About 33 ,500 tons of mangoes were cultivated in Meherpur district this year. This year, the district agriculture department has fixed a target of the production of 40,000 tons of mangoes from 2,340 hectares of mango orchards.
The agriculture department is expecting that Tk 1,600 crores worth of mangoes will be sold in the district this year.
Thakurgaon also got the desired yield of mango this year. According to the district agriculture department, mangos cultivated in 5,085 hectares of land under five upazilas of the district will be sold at Tk 25 crore.
Naogaon has seen a good yield of mangoes this year. Farmers will start harvesting mangoes from May 22. This year the target of maximum mango production in the country has been set due to mango cultivation in 30,000 hectares of land in the district. The agriculture department is looking at the possibility of mango trade of Tk 2,000 crore.
The number of small and big mango orchards in Khagrachari district is about 10,000 and at least 20,000 people are involved in this sector. This district is now the 'new capital' of mango production. Mango has been cultivated in 3,793 hectares of land in the current season. Mango trade is expected to be Tk 2275 crore in this district.
In Bandarban hills, the farmers have also tried to produce mangoes. There is a potential of Tk 560 crores of mango trade in this district.
Rangamati has the potential of Tk 200 crores of mango trade.
Besides, there is a potential of mango trade at Tk 1,600 crores in Meherpur, Tk 239 crores in Natore and Tk 250 crores in Rangpur.