Mango picking began in Rajshahi in a festive mood on Thursday (4 May). From the morning, farmers and traders started picking gooti (local seedling) mangoes. Only one or two orchards were seen bringing their fruit down, however, so no mangoes had yet reached Baneshwar, the largest mango market in Rajshahi.
Trader Sohrab Hossain has leased a mango orchard in the Baneshwar area. He and his workers were busy with nets, jalta picking poles, baskets and crates. One worker climbed the trees to pick the fruit, which was then brought down and packed.
They were picking a variety called Kanchamishti from the orchard. Because these were the first mangoes of the season, many people bought them straight from the orchard. The price was set at Tk 120 a kg.
"I have taken this orchard for two years. The two-year lease cost Tk 5 lakh. Last year the trees did not bear much. If there is no damage from storms and rain, I will make a good profit this year," Sohrab Hossain said.
Tk 1,500 crore market expected
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Rajshahi, mangoes have been grown on 19,578 hectares in the district this year. The trees are expected to produce 2.58 lakh tonnes of mangoes, worth around Tk 1,500 crore. Mango exports abroad have already begun.
Rajshahi Deputy Commissioner Shamim Ahmed told Jago News that harvesting of the district's gooti mangoes had started that day, marking the beginning of mango marketing in Rajshahi. A district administration team led by the upazila nirbahi officers (UNOs) and, at district level, the additional district magistrate (ADM) will make sure that immature mangoes are not brought to market to cheat buyers, that farmers face no problems, and that traffic congestion on the roads is kept in check.
He added that the district administration would do whatever is needed to protect the heritage of Rajshahi's mangoes.
Meanwhile, the Baneshwar mango market in Rajshahi was empty on the first day. Up to 11am no one had brought mangoes to the market.
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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