Fazli mango business has gotten momentum in Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj districts, famous places for mango production.
Sources concerned said the Covid-19 pandemic affected the previous one and half month-long mango business badly.
This year's debacle is supposed to be more compared to the previous year, sources said.
Nasirul Islam, a farmer of Belpukur village under Puthiya Upazila, said the price of Fazli mango has doubled in the last week because of its demand.
On Monday, one maund of mango was sold at Taka 900 to 1,000 at Baneshwar Bazar with a rise of Taka 100 per maund than the previous day.
He said all the branded varieties of mangoes were also sold at record-breaking lower prices last month due to the pandemic frustrating growers and traders. But, at present, Fazli appeared as a variety of recouping losses to some extent, he added.
Fazli mango was sold at Taka 2400 to Taka 2600 per maund according to size and quality at many markets in the previous year.
Islam said the businessmen are now getting the consoling price of Fazli mango as all other mango varieties have almost disappeared from the market. The traders and growers are also satisfied with the outputs, despite the present pandemic.
“Now, we are selling Fazli mango after ending most of the conventional varieties like Gopalbhog and Khirsapat,” said Shafiqul Islam, a retailer of Shaheb Bazar Mango Market. There is another variety, Amrupaly, in the market at present, he added.
Sirajul Islam, additional director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said there are more than 260,000 mango growers and orchard owners in the region comprising Rajshahi, Chapainawabgonj, Natore and Naogaon districts.
Around 130,000 people are engaged in various activities related to mango harvesting, segregating, packaging, transporting and marketing.
Islam added that the DAE has set a target of harvesting around 1.0 million tonnes of mangoes from 80,360 hectares of land in the region this season.
Last year’s production was 8,31,940 tonnes from 72,909 hectares of land, he informed.
Mango is a potential seasonal cash crop in northwestern Bangladesh, especially Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj and Naogaon. Every season, a large number of people are involved in various types of work in the areas. “It creates job opportunities for many people and they can earn some extra money,” said Abdul Awal, Deputy Director of DAE.
“Mango brings money to all sections of people in Baneshwar,” said mango trader Shariful Islam, adding that even a labourer earns Tk 500 to Tk 1,000 per day during the season.
Meanwhile, the virtual trading of mangoes has gained popularity everywhere in the region. Sellers and buyers are getting the benefit of virtual trading amid lockdown imposed to prevent the Covid-19.
Many of the young entrepreneurs in the region are selling mangoes online after the best uses of Facebook and WhatsApp like various social media.
