NAOGAON: Meeting the local demand, the popular Amrapali variety of mangoes of the district are being exported to the United Kingdom.
The first consignment of the dainty fruit has already left the country for UK two days ago, sources said.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources said the Amrapali (Bari Aam-3) variety has vastly been cultivated in Naogaon this year. Sapahar, Porsha, Patnitala and Niamatpur upazilas of the district are prominent for farming of the mango variety. Amrapali mango variety cultivated in the areas are much sweeter and delicious.
Youth Sohel Rana, the owner of 'Barind Agro Park' in Rupgram village under Sapahar upazila, is the sole exporter of Amrapali mangoes in the district.
The postgraduate student Sohel Rana said, "I started the farm on four acres of land while I was studying honors in Statistics at a university in 2015. Now my farm has been extended to some 46 acres of land with over 1,500 Amrapali variety of trees."
He said, "Exporting mangoes to foreign countries is pretty complicated. I had to ensure special care at the timeof growth of the mangoes and maintain additional formalities in order to export the fruits abroad. I had to stop spraying pesticides in mango orchards 15 days before the harvest. I applied chemical-free bio-fertiliser all the time. The fruits went through several quality control units in Dhaka to be eligible for export."
"After all these hassles, I am still happy with the export. Except UK, I am getting orders from Sweden and Finland. In the first consignment, one tonne of mangoes was sent and I have a plan to send about ten tonnes of the fruit this season. Per maund of the Amrapali variety was being sold at Tk 4,000," Sohel added.
Upazila DAE officials said, "Many other mango growers of the area are becoming interested in cultivation of Amrapali variety and getting ready for exporting mangoes next seasons."
"We hope, the exporting amount will be increased manifold in the upcoming years," the officials added.
