Chapainawabganj's mangoes have been selling across the country for a month. So far Khirsapat, Langra, Lakshmanbhog and various guti (local) varieties have reached the market, but these are now nearly finished. From Friday, 20 June, the district's tasty GI-recognised Fazli mango is coming to market.

On the afternoon of Thursday, 19 June, at Chowdhury's orchard in the Maharajpur area of Sadar upazila, mangoes were being brought down from large trees. These were not unripe fruit: ripe mangoes were being picked out from among the unripe ones. Growers said they spend the whole day selecting and picking ripe mangoes to sell at Kansat market, because ripe mangoes left on the tree spoil.

Shafiqur Rahman, who handles buying and selling at Chowdhury's orchard, told Jago News that Fazli mangoes had begun ripening on the trees two days earlier, so only ripe ones were being picked and sold. Unripe Fazli mangoes will also be sold from tomorrow, he said.

Mango grower Shahidul Islam of Shyampur union in Shibganj upazila said Fazli mangoes start ripening on the tree and will reach the market within a day or two. The Fazli yield has not been very good this year, so he is worried about prices.

Mango grower Rafiqul Islam of Monakasha union said production costs are rising day by day but mango prices are not rising in step. He said he would start selling Fazli mangoes the day after tomorrow, and would make a loss if he could not sell them for more than Tk 2,000 a maund.

Sadar upazila mango grower Atikur Rahman Sajal said Gopalbhog mangoes are finished and Khirsapat is nearly finished. Fazli picking will begin tomorrow, he said.

Dr Md Yasin Ali, deputy director of the district Department of Agricultural Extension, said no picking schedule had been set this year, so growers can pick and sell mangoes as soon as they ripen on the tree. Fazli mangoes have already started ripening and growers will pick and sell them within a day or two. Ashwina mangoes will come to market after that, he said.

According to the agriculture department, Chapainawabganj has 37,000 hectares of mango orchards, with a production target of 386,000 tonnes. Last year, 133 tonnes of the district's mangoes were exported.

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