Price triples as mango season starts in Rajshahi
The mango season kicked off officially in Rajshahi today as some growers started harvesting early Guti varieties.
However, the growers are asking three times the price of last year for them arguing that a prolonged winter, rains during the flowering stage, heatwave, and untimely rain in summer reduced the yield by more than 30 percent.
According to the growers, the sour varieties of guti mangoes are likely to be sold at Tk 1,500 per maund. It was sold at Tk 500 last year.
The sweet variety is likely to be sold at Tk 2,000 per maund, which was Tk 700 per maund last year.
However, the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) expects the mango yield to be the same as last year's, which was 13.28 tonnes per hectare.
"The sizes of mangoes will be bigger this year as the trees have been bearing lesser fruits," said Umme Salma, acting deputy director of Rajshahi DAE.
The price of the Gopalbhog variety, which is scheduled to appear in the market on May 25, is likely to be double, said market sources. This variety was sold at Tk 1,200 per maund last year.
However, the district's largest mango market at Baneswar was empty this morning.
Some growers said they would take some of their mangoes to the market in the afternoon.
The market will be fully operational as guti varieties will ripe by that time, said mango growers and businessmen.
Rajshahi's mango grower Anwarul Haque harvested some 10 maunds of guti varieties in the Zinnahnagar area of the city in the morning. "I have 10 guti mango trees. Only three of them have borne fruit this year."
Haque said he will harvest a guti variety named Dudhswar next week and the price will be Tk 2,000 per maund.
"I have no guti mangoes this year for marketing," said Nazrul Islam, a mango grower of Baneswar.
"I will use the few quantities of my mangoes for making pickles at home," he said.
DAE is expecting a mango output of 2,60,315 tonnes from 19,602 hectares of land in the district this year.
Rajshahi's DC Shamim Ahmed said they assigned executive magistrates to monitor the orchards and markets to prevent any usage of chemicals on the mangoes.
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