With the picking of guti mangoes at the start of the Bengali month of Jyoishtho, mango harvesting and marketing has begun in Rajshahi district. Marketing will follow the mango calendar announced by the district administration from Wednesday, 15 May. Farmers in different parts of Rajshahi began bringing down mangoes from the morning. Baneshwar, the main mango market, is still empty, however, and is not expected to pick up until 25 May.

According to the district administration, under the mango calendar all kinds of guti mangoes can be picked from today (Wednesday), Gopalbhog and Ranipachhanda from 25 May, Khirsapat from 30 May, Lakkhanbhog-Lakhna from 25 May, Langra and Banana Mango from 10 June, Amrapali from 15 June, Fazli from 15 June, BARI Aam-4 from 5 July, Ashwina from 10 July, Gourmati from 15 July and Ilamati from 20 August. Katimon and BARI Aam-11 can be picked all year round.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Rajshahi, mangoes are being grown on 19,602 hectares in the district this year. The production target is 2,60,164 tonnes.

The district administration and the agriculture department have asked farmers and traders to market only mature mangoes at the times set in the calendar. Growers in the district began picking within the set timetable from the morning, though few picked many mangoes on the first day. Some growers gathered guti mangoes on a small scale and were pleased with the good prices.

Anwarul Haque, a grower in Paba, Rajshahi, began picking on the first day. "Mango prices will be quite good this year," he said. "I have started this year's harvest with guti mangoes. They are mature now, so they can be picked. That is why I started, following the set date."

Rajib Hossain, a grower in the Baneshwar area, said there had been little rain this year and there were fewer mangoes. "But among the mangoes there are, Ashwina and Amrapali are more plentiful. These will fetch higher prices," he said.

He said picking of guti mangoes had begun that day and he had picked two trees that morning. These guti varieties are mostly used for pickles, but he would sell some at the wholesale depot. They would sell for at least Tk 1,200 to Tk 1,400 a maund; last year he sold the same mangoes for Tk 600 to Tk 800.

Mst Umme Salma, acting deputy director of the DAE in Rajshahi, said the marketing of Rajshahi's mangoes had begun and would continue in phases. "We hope farmers and traders will market mature mangoes at the times set in the mango calendar," she said.

Jahangir Alam, leaseholder of the Baneshwar market, said the market had not yet picked up. Marketing would begin from that day, but guti mangoes would not make the market busy. For the main market to pick up, Gopalbhog mangoes would have to arrive, so it would not get busy until 25 May, and would pick up from then on.

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