Both gardeners and businesses are betting on a good mango trade this season after two years of pandemic-induced losses.
Though the flowering is less this season in few regions, existing little fruits have been generating hopes to the farmers and traders in a lockdown-free normal trading - worth Tk 60 billion - this year.
Above 1.1 million tonnes of mango are expected to be produced on 0.12 million hectares of commercial gardens in Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Naogaon, Natore, Pabna, Rangpur, Satkhira and parts of hilly districts of Chattogram division, according to the Depart-ment of Agricultural Extension (DAE).
Apart from the commercial farms, households are also expecting another 1.4-1.5 million tonnes of the juicy fruit this year from homestead trees, said DAE.
According to the Department of Agricul-tural Marketing (DAM), chambers of commerce and industries of the respective mango districts and Bangladesh Mango Producer Merchants Association (BMPMA), mango worth Tk 60 billion is expected to be traded in 2022 from the commercial farms if the weather remains sound for the next two months.
The mango tourism has already started in full swing in Chapainawab-ganj, Naogaon, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Satkhira and Pabna districts as traders across the country flocked to the regions much earlier to book the trees which would bear fruits in the May-August period, said insiders.
"I've already sold out mangoes of two of my gardens to a Dhaka-based trader," said Kabirul Biswas, a garden owner at Nachol in Chapainawabganj.
Mr Biswas said he had sold the gardens on six hectares of land at Tk 0.95 million in the last week of March.
He said last year (2021) he was forced to sell mangoes at only Tk 0.35 million in the local market amid absence of traders from Dhaka, Chattogram and other areas due to lockdown.
And the sale was below Tk 0.1 million in 2020 during the first lockdown period, he mentioned.
The mango capital Chapainawabganj had a target to produce 0.304 million tonnes from its 38,100 hectares of commercial farms this year, said DAE.
Md Nazrul Islam, DAE deputy director in Chapainawabganj, said the amount of flowers on the trees was less this year compared to the last year.
If the existing buds on the trees become matured in absence of any natural disaster, gardeners could still gain much from the fruits, he said.
Production might be above 0.25 million tonnes if the weather doesn't betray, he added.
Naogaon has emerged as the highest mango producing district with above 0.4 million tonnes of output from its 29, 100 hectares of commercial gardens, said DAE.
Porsha, Sapahar and Patnitala upazilas of Naogaon district are expecting a mango sale worth Tk 20 billion this year.
DAE's Additional Deputy Director (horticulture) in Naogaon Md Khijir Hossain said the district was famous for the Amrapali variety of mango.
Many new gardens are also producing Himsagar, Lengra, BARI mango 4 and other varieties, he said.
Production might be a little bit low in Rajshahi district this year amid a lesser rate of flowering.
Md Mozder Hosen, deputy director of DAE in Rajshahi, said production was good in the last two years. It is normal for the old trees to bear less fruit every two or three years, he said.
"But the existing green fruits will be enough for gardeners to make profits if the weather remains normal for the next one and a half months," he added.
DAE's Rangpur Deputy Director Md Obaidur Rahman Mondal, said: "Flowering was good in the Mithapukur and Badarganj areas and we are expecting above 45,000 tonnes of Haribhanga and other varieties from 3,470 hectares of commercial farms."
He said farmers in Rangpur grew the late variety of delicious 'Haribhanga' which would help them get good profits in the July-August period.
Manjur Ahmed Azad, vice president of the Rangpur Chamber of Commerce and Industries, told the FE that commercial farms had been rising notably in the district where farmers were producing Haribhanga variety applying good agricultural practices.
President of Bangladesh Mango Producer Merchant Association Md Abdul Wahed told the FE that production of mango might decline this year compared to the last year in Chapainawabganj and Rajshahi regions due to odd weather.
But despite the decline, Mr Wahed was expecting normal trading which could help gardeners and traders to cope with the losses of the last two years.
He said the mango sector incurred losses above Tk 22 billion in the last couple of years amid pandemic-induced lockdown. "But not a single gardener was compensated."
He said Gopalbhog and Himsagar varieties of mangoes would be available in the market from next month.
"If the weather remains good until then, we will be able to make some profits", he said.
The country is expecting 2.5-2.6 million tonnes of mango this year, of which commercial gardens would comprise above 42 per cent, according to the DAE.
