The way for exporting Bangladesh's mangoes to the world market will soon be cleared, Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdur Razzaque has said.

The minister said this at a meeting on the production, marketing and export of exportable mangoes at the Secretariat on Thursday (13 April) afternoon.

"There is great demand for Bangladesh's mangoes in the world market. Mango production in the country has risen a lot, and the export potential is large. For export, we must guarantee that mangoes are safe and free of pathogens, but we have not yet been able to give that guarantee; our preparations are under way," he said. "Work is going on to produce mangoes under good agricultural practices, set up a vapour heat treatment plant, build modern packing houses and train farmers, traders and exporters, among other initiatives. A Tk 47 crore project for producing exportable mangoes has also been taken up. As a result, the way for exporting the country's mangoes to the world market will soon be cleared."

"If we can raise exports, mango farmers will get good prices and post-harvest losses will fall. At the same time, safer and pathogen-free mangoes will be available in the local market," the minister said.

The meeting was told that Bangladesh ranks seventh among the world's mango-producing countries, producing about 24 lakh tonnes a year. Because modern farm technology is not used in production, transport, storage and marketing, 25 to 30 percent of the mangoes produced go to waste. World mango export trade was about $1.5 billion in 2021. Bangladesh exported 310 tonnes in 2018–19, 283 tonnes in 2019–20, 1,632 tonnes in 2020–21 and 1,757 tonnes in the 2021–22 fiscal year.

Though Bangladesh is seventh in production, it is not among the top exporting countries. There is potential to export more than a lakh tonnes of mangoes from Bangladesh, and England, Japan, Russia and various European countries have shown interest in importing them. Some 21 mango varieties are exported worldwide, many of which are grown in Bangladesh. About 72 varieties are grown in the country, the popular ones including Khirsapat, Gopalbhog, Langra, Fazli, Haribhanga and Amrapali. Two Bangladeshi varieties, Khirsapat and Fazli, have been recognised as geographical indication (GI) products.

Various measures are being implemented to raise mango exports, including the Tk 47 crore exportable mango production project (2022–27). Through it, mangoes will be produced under good agricultural practices, orchards of exportable varieties will be created, fertiliser and pest management will be improved in existing orchards, and modern technology (pruning, bagging and pest management) will be used to produce quality mangoes. Training is under way for farmers, exporters, marketers and those involved in mango transport and cargo handling, the meeting was told.

Agriculture Secretary Wahida Akter, senior ministry officials, heads of agencies, mango farmers, entrepreneurs, traders and representatives of exporters attended the meeting.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.