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Summer fruits to be delivered by post


Bangladeshpost
Published : 28 May 2020 09:04 PM | Updated : 04 Sep 2020 08:51 PM

Amdadul Haque

Continued general holiday and disruption of communication system amid the coronavirus pandemic and cyclone Amphan have put cultivators of summer fruits in a dilemma to market their goods.

Therefore, the government has taken steps to deliver summer fruits including mango and lychee to different places by postal from the growers timely.

The Ministry of Agriculture has decided to supply mangoes and litchis to different parts of the country, including the capital Dhaka, by postal vehicle. The decision was taken at a recent meeting chaired by the Agriculture Minister on May 22.

The plan of using postal vehicles for carrying fruits, and using apps for online fruit trading including mango, lychees and other fruits, and ensuring easy travel for wholesalers, traders and those involved in the business following safety measures.

In addition, special railway bogies will be provided for transporting mango and lychee from the farmers. Moreover all types of trucks will be available for easy transport of the summer fruits.

Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque said, while talking at the meeting, “Postal department vehicles would be used for marketing mangoes and litchis. This initiative is being taken so that the farmers do not face any problem in marketing their products due to the transport crisis. The postal department does not have much work now and their vehicles will be used to deliver the goods of the farmers.”

He also said, “The government will extend all-out support to growers and traders in selling and marketing all the seasonal fruits such as mango and litchi without any hassle during coronavirus pandemic.”

Assuring the farmers, the Agriculture Minister said, “Agricultural market’s online platform 'Food for Nation' has been introduced to ensure proper marketing of food grains and agricultural products, ensuring fair prices. If the government can keep the supply chain in order, mango and litchi farmers will not have to worry.”

However, mango plucking has already been started in Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj and other areas. Lychees from Dinajpur area have also started coming to the market.

Mangoes have been severely damaged in Super Cyclone Amphan. In Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj areas, more than 20 percent mangoes fell down due to the cyclone. Cyclone Amphan has caused extensive damage to mangoes.

Most mangoes of the country are grown in Rajshahi, Noagaon, Chapainawabganj, Satkhira, Natore, Gazipur and Chittagong hill tracts districts. Most lychees are grown in Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Pabna, Gazipur and Chittagong hill tracts districts.

In several districts in the west and south-west of the country, thousands of hectares of lands are used for the cultivation of mangoes. Typically, farmers start plucking mangoes midway through May every year while authorities set specific timeframes for its harvest in different districts.

Primary data indicates the cyclone Amphan hit 176,000 hectares of crop yields across the country, Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque said at an online media briefing. The government estimates that the storm damaged 10 percent of the 7,384 hectares used to cultivate mangoes.

Farmers in Chapainawabganj said 20 to 40 percent mangoes fell from trees although the DAE claims only five percent of the fruits were damaged in the district.

Most orchards in Chapainawabganj, the country's biggest mango-producing district, are also reeling as farmers said trees shed about 10 to 25 percent of mangoes during the storm, which equates to a loss of almost one billion taka, according to locals.

Talking to some mango orchard owners and farmers of Rajshahi, it has been learned that they fear about the marketing of their products. 

Abdul Alim, a mango orchard owner from Chapainawabganj, told The Bangladesh Post, “The impact of coronavirus and cyclone Amphan has started. Panic has gripped mango farmers.”

He said, “Lengra, Khirsapat and other varieties of mangoes will start ripening after May. Fazli and Ashwina mangoes will ripen much later. Normally, seasonal fruit traders and wholesalers come to buy mango orchards. But this time, there is no orchard buyer due to the coronavirus restrictions. In such a condition, we are afraid of incurring huge losses.”

Bangladesh Mango Producer Merchant Association (BMPMA) president Abdul Wahed told The Bangladesh Post that this time there is no smile on the faces of mango growers and traders because of the coronavirus situation. They could not take proper care of their gardens due to the coronavirus situation and now they are worried about the marketing of the seasonal fruits amid suspension of transports and restrictions on free movement of people.

Nazrul Islam, Deputy Director of the DAE, told The Bangladesh Post that mango growers are now passing days amid serious anxieties due to the coronavirus restrictions.

“There is no reason to worry about. Initiatives will be taken from the administration so that mango-laden trucks could move to different areas of the country,” he said.

Rajshahi District Agriculture Extension Department Deputy Director Shamsul Haque told the Bangladesh Post “Seasonal fruits selling and marketing are out of the purview of lockdown. So marketing will not be a problem. Farmers will be able to take fruits to the market in compliance with hygiene rules. According to the ministry's instructions, all possible assistance will be provided to ensure fair prices for farmers' products, including mangoes and litchis, during the coronavirus crisis.”

Meanwhile, despite a productive yield this year, mango farmers were already in trouble after the coronavirus pandemic cut off foreign trade. Their woes were exacerbated by the impact of Amphan which crushed their hopes that they had with the impending harvest.

Local mango orchard owners and traders said this was the worst situation they've faced in recent years.