Satkhira's mango orchards are now bowed under the weight of fruit. Ripe mangoes hang from every tree, and orchards are busy with picking, sorting and marketing. The mango markets bustle with workers from dawn to dusk. Yet there is no relief on growers' faces: the yield is good, but the profit keeps shrinking.

Growers complain that marketing, not production, has become the bigger challenge. A large share of what they get for a maund of mangoes goes on crates, sacks, paper, labour and transport, so many farmers miss out on the profit they hoped for even in the peak season.

According to the district office of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), mango has been grown on about 4,140 hectares in Satkhira this season, with a production target of about 70,900 tonnes. The district's mangoes reach other parts of the country and also go directly to consumers through online platforms.

In Satkhira's wholesale markets a maund of mangoes now sells for Tk 1,200 to Tk 1,500, depending on variety and quality. But packaging and transport to send a maund to Dhaka cost about Tk 1,300.

By growers' reckoning, a single plastic crate costs about Tk 280. A plastic sack costs Tk 30 and old newspaper Tk 70 a kg, on top of packing labour and other costs. Courier services charge Tk 13 to Tk 17 a kg to send mangoes to Dhaka, rising to about Tk 25-30 a kg for home delivery.

Monirul Islam, a mango grower in Satkhira Sadar upazila, said: "We bear the costs of orchard care, fertiliser, pesticide and labour all year. But in the season the price of mangoes is low and packaging costs are sky-high. A large part of what I get for a maund goes on crates, sacks, paper and transport. There is hardly any profit left."

Another grower, Kabirul Islam, said the yield is good but prices are below expectations. With a maund selling at Tk 1,200-1,500 and packaging and transport to Dhaka costing about the same, many growers are forced to sell cheaply in the local market.

Traders say packaging materials have become steadily more expensive over the past few years, with plastic goods, paper and transport costs hitting the mango market directly.

Md Raju, a mango commission agent at Sultanpur Bara Bazar, said the market is now entirely buyer-driven. Prices have fallen because supply is high, but the cost of crates, sacks, paper and courier has not fallen and has in fact risen. Truck fares have gone up with fuel prices, so wholesale buyers also offer less after counting transport costs, putting both traders and growers under pressure.

Nazmul Hossain, another agent at the same market, said packaging one maund now costs about what packing two maunds used to, with crate prices up abnormally, making it hard to profit from sending mangoes online or by courier. Buyers in Dhaka calculate crate, packaging and transport costs before buying, he said. The yield is also higher this year, the market was closed for six days for Eid, and many trees are ripening at once, so growers are bringing mangoes to market together and prices have dropped.

Across the market, while a maund of mangoes sells for Tk 1,200-1,500, a plastic crate costs Tk 280. Growers and traders are angry, saying it now feels as if the crate costs more than the mangoes.

Crate trader Ranju said he buys two to five crates at a time from fruit shops throughout the year and stores them hoping for some profit in the mango season. Prices were somewhat lower in other years, but this year each crate has risen by more than Tk 100, and traders themselves are forced to buy at higher prices.

Shariful Islam, a sack trader at Bara Bazar, said the plastic sack he used to sell for Tk 10 now sells for Tk 30, because both factory wholesale prices and transport costs have gone up.

The manager of a courier service's Satkhira branch, speaking on condition of anonymity, said charges had to be adjusted because of higher fuel, transport and operating costs. Sending mangoes to Dhaka now costs Tk 13 to Tk 16 a kg, with extra for home delivery. The fares may seem higher than before, he said, but they have been set in line with operating costs.

Officials of the Department of Agricultural Marketing say that increasing direct links between producers and consumers would cut farmers' costs and ensure fair prices.

District agricultural marketing officer Saleh Mohammad Abdullah told Jagonews24: "Farmers will benefit if online marketing, cooperative-based marketing and direct sales are strengthened. Steps to reduce packaging and transport costs are also needed."

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