Home ›› 13 Oct 2022 ›› Nation
Around 9.60 lakh tonnes of mango worth about Tk 800 crore have been produced from 90,894 hectares of land in the four districts of Rajshahi this year, said Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) Additional Director Shamsul Wadud.
Mango orchards have doubled in the region with a gap of only a decade.
The Rajshahi region has excellent potential for mango exports as both the acreage and annual output of the delectable fruit have been gradually increasing there for the past few years, he also said.
Mango production has increased by around six lakh tonnes amid the promotion of high-yielding varieties and modern technologies in the region, including its vast Barind tract, during the last decade.
Experts opined the enhanced yield has created a new dimension in the field of infusing dynamism into the local economy and crop diversification to a greater interest.
DAE Additional Director Nazrul Islam said the Rajshahi region has become potential for mango production at present as paddy farming faces crises due to constraints of irrigation water in the high barind area.
Besides, expanded market management along with international recognition of mangoes has been stimulating the farmers towards mango farming.
Triple-cropping paddy fields are gradually being converted into mango orchards commercially because the seasonal fruit is being adjudged as more profitable compared to the grain crops at present.
The farmers are being imparted training on production, harvest and post-harvest management of the exportable mangoes so that they can export qualitative and standard fruit.
Shafiqul Islam, a contract grower, said there are enormous demands of Rajshahi mangoes in European markets but they are not being successful to meet the demand due to a lack of processing facilities.
“We have to pass a long process to export mango from Rajshahi through Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka,” he said, adding that many of the exporters become frustrated when they fail to compete in the international markets due to various problems.
He said they produce mango through contract farming with 20 farmers in Bagha upazila. This mango is produced for export to the European market. Mango export is almost double profitable than that of selling in local markets. But additional cost and care are needed for preparing the exportable mango as it requires the use of modern technologies.
“If we get requisite facilities in the fields of export, the volume of mango export will be boosted up to a greater extent,” he added. There is no packaging house in Rajshahi for mango exports and so the mango will go to a packaging house in Dhaka, he said.
Hot water treatment is an important issue for mango export to protect mangoes from insects.
“If we can take more care in mango preservation and marketing, Bangladesh will be able to go ahead more in mango export,” he added.
Islam, who is exporting mango to different European markets since 2015, said many of their problems related to exporting mango will be resolved if cargo services are launched at Rajshahi Airport.
He opined that Rajshahi’s mango needs to be export-oriented at present otherwise the sector may face a debacle situation.
Apart from this, agri-business will expand through processing and new entrepreneurial classes will be created. To this end, side by side with government patronage, the owners of private processing factories have to come forward.
Modern quality pack-house has to be established in the mango-growing areas. It will be beneficial to build a small or medium-sized processing plant.
Dr Shafiqul Islam, Principal Scientific Officer of Fruit Research Station, said Fazli mango of Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj and Khirshapat of Chapainawabganj have attained GI certification accreditation. So, the two varieties of mango will get special privileges in terms of export if those were produced using best practices.
