Gopalbhog mangoes have filled Rajshahi's markets ahead of time, although they were due to reach the market from 22 May. The agriculture department says the mangoes come from outside Rajshahi; a few farmers in the district have mangoes ripening but have not yet been given permission to pick them.

A visit to Shaheb Bazar, Court Bazar, New Market and other markets found Gopalbhog mangoes on sale in a number of shops and from vans in residential neighbourhoods, most of them unripe.

Questions have been raised about the quality of the Gopalbhog on the market, and the price is high: they are selling at Tk 70-80, causing discontent among ordinary buyers.

Firoz Ali, shopping for mangoes at Shaheb Bazar in the city, said: "There should still be guti mangoes now, yet Gopalbhog has arrived. What is available has all been ripened from unripe fruit, and the taste is completely bland. Still, I bought some as the first mangoes of the season."

Another buyer, Raihan Ali, said: "From the outside they look ripe, but when you cut them you find they are completely raw inside. I was cheated buying the first mangoes at a high price, so the quality is poor."

Mango seller Abu Jafar said: "We know Gopalbhog is supposed to be picked on the 22nd, but because demand is high some mangoes had to be picked early. The fruit is not good and the quality is poor, but we were forced to bring it to market."

Maruf Hossain, a grower in the Kharkhari bypass area, said: "Some Gopalbhog mangoes in my orchard have begun to ripen, though not fully. No wholesaler has come yet, so I was forced to pick some early. I did not take any permission from the agriculture department. They ripened, so I picked and am selling them."

Umme Salma, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Rajshahi, said: "Gopalbhog mangoes are supposed to come to market on 22 May. The mangoes now on the market are probably not from our area."

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