Hundreds of mango traders at Baneswarhat under Puthia upazila of the district are waiting with crates full of mangoes for buyers but look frustrated as they are not getting sufficient customers even to sell those at half of the actual prices.
Mango trader Mintu was seen waiting with crates of Laxman Bhog variety of mango on a van. A customer approached and Mintu demanded Taka 750 per maund (47 kg a maund) but the customer bargained for Taka 720. Mintu informed, during the same time last year, the Laxman Bhog mango was sold at Tk 1,600 to 1,800 per maund. This year, the price is less than half of the last year, he added.
Mintu, a mango trader of Chamta village under Solua union of Charghat, said he took lease of a mango orchard and now he has come with the mangoes to sell those at the haat. In a frustrated voice he said the price of mango has fallen due to the impact of corona abnormally. The wages of labour and the price of insecticide were higher.
The price of insecticide is equal to one and a half maunds of mangoes. " There is a huge loss in mango farming," he said adding that last year the mango traders earned a good profit despite pandemic but due to lockdown this year, wholesale customers from Dhaka and Chittagong are not approaching to the mango markets of the district. As a result, mango traders are forced to sell mangoes at a throw away price.
Another mango trader Osman Ali of Chalk Dhadas village under Puthia upazila said the good quality Langra mango at the haat is now being sold at Tk 1,000 to 1,300 per maund, Fazley at Tk 500 to 600, Lakhna at Tk 400 to 750, Ashina at Tk 400, Amrapali at 1,600 to 1,800, Totapuri at Tk 800 to 900, Khirsapati or Himsagar at Tk 1,600 to 1,800 per maund. The price of the mangoes is less than that of the last year, he added.
Osman said both the bumper production of mango and the lockdown were responsible for such an abnormal fall in the price of mango. The production of mango was more than double compared with that of last year but the price is less than half, he further said.
Sanjit Saha, owner of a mango store at Baneswarhat, informed that there was a bumper production of mango this year but due to the corona situation, there was no enough customer to purchase mango. Sanjit was seen buying Lakhman Bhog mango from a seller at Tk 400 per maund only.
KJM Abdul Awal, Deputy Director of Agriculture Extension Department, Rajshahi, said there are mango orchards on 17,943 hectares of land in Rajshahi this year whereas last year it was on 17,573 hectares of land. The target has been fixed to produce 219,000 tonnes of mango in the district this year.
He further mentioned there was a huge mango production in the district and the target of production would surpass this year. Due to the present corona situation the price of mango has fallen abnormally, he added.
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