Mango growers in Chapainawabganj were thrown into difficulty by the situation that arose around the quota reform movement. Now things have begun to return largely to normal, and the mango market is starting to look like its old self.

From the morning of Friday, 26 July, the Kansat mango market was busy again. The market is now full of mangoes, and there are plenty of buyers.

Habibur Rahman, from the Abbas Bazar area of the union, came to Kansat to sell Amrapali mangoes. He said that for several days the whole country had been unstable because of the quota movement, and mango prices had fallen. "So we did not pick many mangoes from the trees. But since the army came out, the situation is much calmer. Traffic is normal again, and that has brought relief to our Kansat market too. Now we can buy and sell mangoes normally."

Ataur Rahman, a mango grower from Shyampur union, said: "The bad effect the quota reform movement had on the mango market is going away. Since yesterday the market has started to return to its old form." Another grower, Shahidul Islam, said: "Since the morning the whole area around the market has been full of mangoes, and there are plenty of buyers. But deals are not being done in cash as before."

Mango trader Ashraful said the same. "Fazli, Amrapali, BARI-4, Ashwina and many other varieties are available in the market now. Before the quota movement, all mangoes were sold for cash. Now cash dealing has fallen somewhat." He said the problem arose because banks were closed for several days, and the wholesalers (aratdars) are still not paying properly in cash.

Trader Abdul Basir said: "Six or seven years ago, few mangoes were sold for cash in this market. Then, around 2021-22, wholesalers embezzled large sums of money from many growers. Since then nobody here sells mangoes on credit. But now, because of the situation, cash dealing has fallen."

Rahmat Ali came from Rohanpur with a van load of Ashwina mangoes but did not get the price he hoped for. He told Jago News: "I am going home after selling at Tk 1,700 a maund. Mangoes are selling at the same rate as before the movement, but at this time of year they should be fetching more."

Omar Faruk, general secretary of the Kansat Aam Aratdar Samabay Samity Limited, said the quota movement had affected the mango market too. Trucks loaded with mangoes could not reach their destinations on time, and wholesalers could not withdraw cash because banks were closed, causing hardship for everyone in the trade. Now the situation is much more normal: mangoes are being traded at about 500 wholesale depots every day, and thousands of labourers are at work.

At least Tk 30-35 crore worth of mangoes are bought and sold at the Kansat market every day. This year the agriculture department has set a target of producing 4,50,000 tonnes of mangoes in the district, up from 4,25,000 tonnes last year.

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