A cold store using advanced German methods has been set up in Shibganj, Chapainawabganj. Raw mangoes can be kept there for 20 to 25 days. The cold store's owners have already profited from storing mangoes, and the facility is also open to ordinary mango farmers.

The cold store is in the Koylabari area of Shahabazpur union in the upazila. Mango farmers and traders are delighted, and people in the local mango trade have new hopes.

A visit found that the cold store, set up under the name Azan Trading International Limited, covers 288 decimals. It has a hot wash chamber covering 20 decimals, and the cold storage plant covers 130 decimals. There are six chambers and a 64-decimal pond.

Local mango farmer Md Hafizul said: "For several years we have been in despair at not getting a fair price for mangoes. This cold store has given us hope. When there are lots of mangoes in the market, prices are low and we lose out. But here mangoes can be stored for 20 to 25 days, so we will be able to sell at higher prices. I have decided to store at least a small quantity here next year, and I have already spoken to the cold store's management."

Ruhul Amin of Kansat union in Shibganj upazila said mango prices had been low for several years and seasonal mango prices were falling further. "This time I had more than 300 maunds of Ashwina mangoes, but I could not recover the production cost by selling them. I have suffered heavy losses," he said.

"I did not know before that mangoes could be kept here for 20 to 25 days. If I had known, I would have stored them here. Now that I know, I will keep mangoes here from next year and sell them some days later. That gives a better chance of profit," he added.

Ismail Khan, general secretary of the Shibganj Mango Producer Co-operative Society, said that a few years ago there were no mangoes other than Ashwina in August, so farmers got good prices for Ashwina. That did not happen this time, and mango farmers faced heavy losses. "Amid this we have had good news: mangoes can be stored for up to 25 days by the German method. Mango prices will rise a lot in those 25 days, and we will profit by selling them," he said.

He added that in 2021 one metric tonne of Fazli, Khirsapat and Lakshmanbhog mangoes was stored in the cold store as a trial and taken out after 28 days, completely intact.

Yakub Ali, CO of Azan Trading International Limited, said this advanced cold store for preserving fruit with German technology can hold 5,600 metric tonnes of mangoes.

In 2022, he said, 500 kg of carrots, 200 kg of green chillies and 200 kg of tomatoes were stored there. The carrots were taken out after 28 days and the chillies and tomatoes after 15 days, all intact. "This convinced us that all kinds of agricultural produce can be kept here," he said.

This year, he said, 32 metric tonnes of Khirsapat and 2 metric tonnes of Langra mangoes were stored from 11 June to 30 June, and on Sunday 1 tonne of Ashwina mangoes was put in. Before that, 40 metric tonnes of various varieties including Fazli, Langra, Ashwina, Rupali, Khirsapat and Lakhna had been stored. "We have profited quite well from this," he said.

Mangoes are given a polish and fungicide wash there, he said. They can be stored without washing, but the fungicide wash keeps the colour good. "Although we built the cold store as a private venture, ordinary farmers can also store mangoes here. It will cost Tk 4 to 5 per kg of mangoes for a month," he said.

Shibganj upazila agriculture officer Md Shariful Islam said this upazila produces the most mangoes in the district, and they are sold at the Kansat mango market. Production has risen greatly over the past few years, so farmers are not getting good prices at Kansat. With this cold store, farmers will be able to keep mangoes for 20 to 25 days before selling.

He said ordinary farmers can also store mangoes there at low cost, and will profit by selling them some days later. Mangoes are being washed in the hot wash chamber, and if more such methods were used, more of the district's mangoes could be exported.

The agriculture officer said two scientists from Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands visited the cold store on Saturday 26 August and gave advice on how the mangoes could be exported to the European market. "We are working accordingly and hope doors abroad will open over time," he said.

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