The large mango market at Puraton Bazar in the town still gives a dull look due to lack of expected number of customers although the popular summer fruit started arriving there from different areas of the famous mango producing district from May 26.

There are some 75 wholesale shops in the market. Normally, truckloads of mangoes are sent from the market daily to Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet and other districts from the first week of June. Fruit traders from across the country visit Puraton Bazar to purchase several popular mango varieties including Gopalbhogh, Khirsapat, Laxmanbhog, Langra and Fazli.

The mango market provides direct employment to hundreds of workers every season and the area buzzes with activities amid interactions between buyers and sellers.

But the mango market still gives a dull look due to poor arrival of customers.

Abdus Samad, a mango trader engaged in the business for last 40 years, said he never saw such a dull situation in mango market. 

"I opened my shop at the market on May 26. But the amount of business done so far is too small compared to last season's turnover," he said.

The mango traders are worried due to poor presence of buyers.

The price per maund of fruit ranges from Tk 1,600 to Tk 2,200 depending on its size, quality and variety, said mango traders.

Visiting the mango market at Puraton Bazar in the town a couple of days ago, this correspondent saw abundant supply of the mango but there was much less than usual customers.

Torikul Islam of Rehaichar in municipal area came to the market for selling 20 maunds of Gopalbhog and Himsagor, but he could not sell those for lack of buyers.

Mango traders are counting losses due to the situation, said Abdul Wahed, president of Chapainawabagnj mango traders association.

Talking to this correspondent, several traders said many employees of private companies are yet to get their salary while people are consuming less mangoes during the Ramadan and so, the market is dull still now. They expressed hope that buyers will start coming in larger numbers within a few days.

Monjurul Huda, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture Extension, Chapainawabganj, said different dates have been fixed for harvesting of different varieties of mangoes as per their ripening nature.

There are over 19 lakh mango trees on 26,150 hectares of land in the district and the production this season would be 2.40 lakh tonnes, he said.