Satkhira's famous Himsagar mango officially went on sale on 15 May under the district's pre-announced "mango calendar". But heavy supply on the first day of the season caused a sharp drop in prices after midday, with the price falling by up to Tk 800 a maund within a few hours.

On the morning of 15 May, Sultanpur Bara Bazar, the district's biggest mango market, saw long lines of hundreds of vans loaded with mangoes. Under the schedule set by the district administration, growers picked Himsagar mangoes from their orchards and brought them to market all at once on the first day. Himsagar that sold for Tk 2,600 a maund in the morning fell to Tk 1,800–2,000 after midday, and in places sold for as little as Tk 1,600.

Despite a good crop, small growers were disappointed by the sudden fall. Shafiqul Islam, a grower from Kukhrali in Sadar, said: "The market was stable until the morning. But after midday everyone brought their mangoes at the same time and the price collapsed. If mangoes came to market in stages, there would not have been such a loss."

Another grower, Sona Mia, said: "After the extra cost of fertiliser, pesticide and labour, if prices fall right at the start, it is hard for farmers to survive."

Growers say the instability in wholesale prices comes from the race to catch the early market, fear of storms and a growing reliance on online traders rather than big wholesalers.

Altaf Hossain, a grower from Chandpur in Sadar, said: "There are plenty of mangoes on the trees this year, but they are a bit small. On top of that, with clouds and rain on and off for several days, we tremble at the thought of a cyclone or nor'wester. Everyone thinks it is better to sell cheap than to lose everything in a storm, so they all started picking at once. Because the fruit is small, outside wholesalers do not dare to offer a high price."

Orchard owner Kamrul Islam alleged: "When we reached the market we saw a different picture. The wholesale shops deduct extra money on various pretexts, and then there is the market syndicate. They got together and pushed the price down. We ordinary growers are helpless; we cannot take the mangoes back home. So we were forced to sell at a loss."

Idris Ali, a commission agent at Bara Bazar, said big wholesalers were buying very cautiously this year because small traders on Facebook and online were sending mangoes by courier directly from orchards, drawing trade away from the wholesale market. Big traders were afraid to load trucks as before, and the pressure was falling on ordinary growers.

Kabir Hossain, another commission agent at Sultanpur Bara Bazar, said oversupply was the main reason for the fall, as mangoes from every orchard arrived on the first day. "But there is always demand for Himsagar. I hope the market will return to normal in a few days," he said.

Online trader Abdur Rahim, who came from Tangail, said Satkhira's Himsagar was unique in taste and aroma. Prices were a little low at first, but for premium-sized mangoes buyers would have to wait a few more days, and prices would rise then. "We compete online to sell mangoes. When we buy from orchards, we pay a good price," he said.

Market worker Sakil Hossain said everything cost more this year: labour costs had risen, van and truck fares were sky-high, and crates for packing and courier charges were higher than last year. "Mango prices may have fallen, but our costs have not," he said.

Miraj Hossain, a leader of the Sultanpur Bara Bazar produce traders' association, said everyone wanted to catch the high prices of the first day, and that race had brought several thousand maunds of mangoes into the market in a single day, upsetting the balance of supply and demand. Higher courier rates had also made sending mangoes to other districts much more expensive.

Saiful Islam, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Satkhira, said that because growers brought mangoes to market together on the first day, there were somewhat fewer local buyers than the supply, causing prices to fluctuate. "But the international market for our mangoes is very bright. Two metric tonnes went to Dubai in the first consignment today. We have a target of exporting 100 metric tonnes this season," he said.

He added that Satkhira's toxin-free mangoes were in special demand in Europe and the Middle East. Once exports were fully under way and big wholesalers from other districts became active, prices would stabilise within a few days. "We are monitoring the market round the clock so that growers get a fair price," he said.

According to the DAE in Satkhira, about 45,750 farmers have grown mangoes on 4,140 hectares in the district this season. The production target is 70,900 metric tonnes, a large share of it Himsagar, and the export target is 100 metric tonnes. Those involved expect mangoes worth about Tk 350 crore to be traded in the district this season.

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