The local administration in Chapainawabganj, known as the 'capital of mangoes', has not set a picking timetable for this season. Growers will be able to pick and market each variety as soon as it matures.

Deputy Commissioner Abdus Samad announced the decision on the afternoon of 8 May at a meeting in Chapainawabganj on drawing up a mango calendar and on producing and marketing safe, toxin-free mangoes. Mango growers were delighted.

Mango grower Ahsan Habib said: "Chapainawabganj growers do not market immature mangoes. We have proved this many times. I hope this year will be no different. We will not market anything but mature mangoes."

Another grower, Anarul Islam, said: "We were able to convince the administration that we do not market immature mangoes. Our request was that no mango calendar be set, and that is what has happened. We are happy."

Ismail Khan Shamim, general secretary of the Shibganj Mango Producer Co-operative Society Limited, said: "Mangoes are now grown in many districts. If picking dates are fixed, buyers may go to other districts. So this step was taken with growers in mind. It is good for everyone."

Deputy Commissioner Abdus Samad said that at a time of changing weather, fixing picking dates leads many people to use unfair means to get fruit to market. The decision not to have a mango calendar was taken to stop that and to ensure fair prices.

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