Mangoes are selling at Tk 7 a kg in Rajshahi. The fruit being sold at this price was knocked down in the storm brought by Cyclone Remal.

The mangoes were seen being sold at Baneshwar market in Rajshahi on Tuesday, 28 May.

Mango traders at the market said fallen mangoes are selling at Tk 300 to 400 a maund in Rajshahi, which works out at Tk 7 to 10 a kg. Some of the mangoes are in good condition, while others have split. These damaged mangoes are very unlikely to ripen and may rot within a few days, so many people are selling the fruit they gathered. The mangoes will be used to make pickle.

Majidur Rahman brought mangoes to the market. He told Jagonews24: "Yesterday the children gathered these mangoes from around the house. I bought them at Tk 2 to 5 and am now selling them at Tk 7 a kg."

Sajjad Hossain, who was bargaining with Majidur, said there is no demand for these mangoes in Rajshahi, but some companies in Dhaka want them. Buyers are very few, but he was buying in the hope of a small profit.

Baneshwar mango market leaseholder Masud Rana said few mangoes came to the market because of the previous day's storm, and all that came were storm-fallen fruit, trading at Tk 300 to 400 a maund. "The effect of the storm is over. I hope good mangoes will start arriving from tomorrow," he said.

Umme Salma, district training officer of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Rajshahi, said mango and Boro paddy are now in the fields in Rajshahi. The storm caused some damage to mangoes, with Fazli and Lakshmanbhog falling in Puthia, Charghat and Bagha upazilas, but there is no percentage figure for it. The storm caused no major damage in Rajshahi, she said.

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