Bad time for mango orchardists in hills

Mango orchardists in Bandarban are facing serious difficulties this year due to a lack of rain. March and April are important months for growers, when mangoes develop from buds into fruit on the way to ripening. The current drought-like conditions are taking their toll. Mangoes, including of the amrapali and rangua varieties which usually do very well in the hill districts, have been falling from the trees early.

“The heat has been excessive,” says one grower, Jirkung Bawm from Laimi Para. “The weather during the flowering season wasn't ideal and it adversely affects production.” Many local mango orchardists are facing losses this year due to the unfavourable weather.

According to Bandarban's agriculture extension department office, the district last year produced at least 81,940 tonnes of mangoes on 4,820 hectares. This year while orchards have grown to cover 6,900 hectares, expected production targets are unlikely to be met. “This year mango production might reach only 40,000 tonnes in total,” one officer says.

“The extremely dry and hot weather is responsible for the fall in production this season,” notes the department's Deputy Director Altaf Hossain. “Low rainfall is not good for developing fruit.”

“Mango production from my three-acre orchard has fallen by 55 percent this year,” says grower Chang Path Mro from Thanchi.

But for growers the situation isn't all bad. As a result of stifled production, orchardists predict market prices for mangoes will be pricier this year. “Last year I earned around Tk 8 lakh from my five-acre mango orchard,” says Jewel Bawm from Chimbuk Road area. “Already this year I have earned Tk 4 lakh from the same land.”

Disease is also proving to be a business challenge this year. “I bought the mangoes from a five-acre orchard a month ago for around Tk. 6 lakh,” says trader Md Saleh Uddin. “But I find most of the fruit has been infected with an unknown disease over the last two weeks, with infected mangoes rotting within seven to ten days.” It's a problem affecting orchards in many areas of the district.