Chapainawabganj, known as the capital of mangoes, is facing a severe shortage of fruit bags at the very start of the season. Thousands of growers and orchard owners in the district are worried because they cannot get the bags, one of the most important inputs for producing safe, toxin-free and exportable mangoes.

Growers are going from place to place without finding the bags they need, and where bags are available they are selling at almost double the price. Orchard owners say this is pushing up the cost of producing mangoes.

Growers say that in recent years the use of fruit bags has risen sharply as they cut pesticide use to produce safe mangoes. Bagging has become popular especially for Ashwina, Katimon, and exportable Khirsapat and Fazli. But this season supply is short of demand, creating a crisis in the market and forcing growers to buy bags at higher prices.

Mangoes must be bagged within a set period as the young fruit grows. If the bags are not put on in time, the risk of insect attack, black spots and various diseases rises, lowering quality and possibly harming export prospects. Growers say that unless supply is quickly normalised and effective steps are taken to control prices, safe mango production could be disrupted this season.

Rafiqul Islam, a farmer from Islampur union in Sadar upazila, said he needed about 50,000 fruit bags this year but had got only 10,000, and at double the price. Bags that used to cost Tk 2 to Tk 3.5 each were now selling for as much as Tk 5 to Tk 6 in many places, and even then not in the numbers needed. Unable to bag his mangoes on time, he feared insect attack and spotting.

Tarek Rahman, a grower from Shyampur union, said bagging loses its effectiveness once the set time has passed, damaging quality and export prospects. "The time for bagging is almost over, yet I cannot buy a single bag. A syndicate is keeping the bags off the market to raise prices. Now we have to buy at double the price," he said.

Another grower, Ansarul Islam, said the supply of fruit bags in the local market had suddenly dropped. There were allegations that many traders had stockpiled bags in advance and were selling them at higher prices, and small and medium growers were the worst hit.

Dr Md Yasin Ali, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Chapainawabganj, said fruit bags were very effective for producing safe mangoes. They reduce attacks by harmful insects, cut pesticide use and keep the colour and quality of the fruit good. As growers had become more aware, the amount of bagging in the district rose every year. He said they would look into why there was a shortage this time.

According to the district agriculture department, about 25 crore fruit bags are used in Chapainawabganj every year. The sudden shortage this season has left the district's mango growers worried.

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