Madhumas, the honey month of Jyoishtha, ended some two and a half months ago, and nearly all the fruits that come with it are gone. Mangoes are a slightly different story: they are still in the markets at the very end of the season. Ashwina, BARI and some other long-season varieties are still available, but prices have been high throughout the season.

Buyers say several varieties can still be found. Compared with other years, mango supply is somewhat higher this time even in the middle of August. Prices are a little high, they say, but the mangoes are available and taste and smell good.

A tour of the markets shows Gourmoti, Katimon and Ashwina mangoes still on sale; Amrapali ran out a few days ago. Towards the end of the season prices have risen according to variety and quality, with mangoes selling at Tk 120 to Tk 200 a kg. Buyers say this is relatively high.

Sellers say mangoes are still coming from Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj and Naogaon, and sales are good even though the season is nearly over. They said the protests had caused heavy losses to their business.

There is good demand for the BARI varieties, BARI-3, BARI-4, BARI-11 and BARI-12, and for Gourmoti. Traders are selling all of these as "BARI mango".

Salam Hossain, a fruit trader in Rampura, told Jagonews: "A few years ago you couldn't get mangoes at this time. Now BARI mangoes are everywhere. BARI will be available for about another month, and the price will go up."

Mango buyer Jamil Mohsin said: "The children love mangoes. I used to buy Amrapali, but I can't get it now. For the past two days I've been buying BARI-4. It's a very good mango, with a small stone and lots of juice. The price keeps rising, and it seems higher than in other years."

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