Popular and rare fruit varieties from different regions of the country have come together at the three-day National Fruit Fair on the grounds of the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) at Khamarbari in the capital. From Narsingdi's famous "Ghorashal" pineapple to the "Three Taste" mango and the Japanese Miyazaki, the fair has become a focus of interest for visitors and buyers.

A visit to the fair on 19 June found crowds at the stalls, with mangoes of various kinds selling best. Buyers were purchasing 5, 10 and even 20kg at a time. Himsagar, Gopalbhog, Amrapali and Langra mangoes were selling at Tk 80 to 120 a kg depending on size and quality.

Habibur Rahman, owner of Nature's Fruit, has brought the famous Ghorashal pineapple from Raban village in Palash upazila of Narsingdi. Visitors crowded round to see the sweet, fragrant and juicy pineapples.

Habibur Rahman said the pineapple is in great demand in Narsingdi, and after meeting local demand he plans to expand into the Dhaka market. "I have eaten pineapples from many parts of the country, but pineapples this sweet are rarely found," he said.

At the Alhamdulillah Agro stall, buyers were interested in the "banana mango". Buyer Shamsuddin said banana mango usually cannot be found in the market for under Tk 150 to 200, while here good-quality fruit was available for Tk 100.

The stall's entrepreneur, Murad Sheikh, showed visitors a special variety called "Three Taste". He said the mango is quite sweet even when green and can be eaten with its skin, and tastes very good when ripe as well. All the mangoes brought the day before at Tk 110 a kg had sold out, he said, adding that they grow this and various foreign varieties in Dinajpur.

The Japanese Miyazaki mango is also a talking point. Although it is displayed at several stalls, only a firm called Master Agro is selling it. A salesperson at the stall said Miyazaki mangoes grown in an orchard in Rajshahi were selling at Tk 400 a kg.

The Shahriar Enterprise stall is also showing Miyazaki, Dokmai, Chiang Mai, Red Palmer and other foreign varieties. The firm's owner, Ansar Ali, said they have started commercial cultivation of banana mango, Katimon and BARI-4 and will gradually expand to other varieties.

Babul Ahmed, a private-sector employee, was seen buying 20kg of mangoes. "I wait for the fruit fair every year. When it comes I buy a lot of mangoes and share them among relatives and neighbours. Prices here are comparatively a little lower," he said. The fair, organised by the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM), has 67 stalls and runs until Saturday.

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