The first consignment of 500kg of Gopalbhog mangoes from Rajshahi is en route to Dhaka today to be exported to Sweden.

The mangoes were picked from the city's Jinnah Nagar orchards and will be sent to Dhaka for export, reports our Rajshahi staff correspondent.

Anwarul Haque, president of Bangladesh Mango Growers' Association, will send the mangoes to Sweden through Syed N Hossain Sajal, managing director of Angel Group, an exporter of mangoes.

Anwarul Haque told The Daily Star, "I send about 20 tonnes of mangoes to eight countries every year through exporters. I have planned to send 10 more tonnes this year."

"This time I have bagged 1 lakh mangoes, the amount is about 30 tonnes", he said.

He added that he would be able to bag more mangoes if the exporters contacted him.

Contacted, Exporter Syed N Hossain Sajal told The Daily Star that an agreement had been signed with a Swedish buyer to send 500 kg of mangoes to the country.

"I export mangoes to Finland, Germany, and Sweden every year. Like every year, we will export 100 tonnes of mangoes this year," he said.

According to the Department of Agriculture, the target for mango production in Rajshahi this year is about 2 lakh tonnes on about 18,000 hectares of land.

Asked whether the target could be increased to more than 100 tonnes, the exporter said that it was not possible even if they wanted to.

"There are some problems. No export targets are set for us. Besides, the air fare is high and there is no government support. These are exported by the initiative of producers and exporters."

"When it comes to exporting mangoes to Europe or other countries, they judge the quality of mangoes. If you set up mango processing methods such as hot water treatment plants at the field level, you will get benefit during exporting mangoes. But these facilities are available only in Dhaka," he said.

But this year's mango yield is less than the desired production. So, the price is too high.

To stop the sale of immature mangoes, the picking of Gopalbhog mangoes has started from May 20, as per the deadline set by the district administration.