Online mango trading becomes boon to young entrepreneurs

Mango trade via social media platforms is becoming popular among the young entrepreneurs of Natore’s Bagatipara upazila.

While trade has dropped in the local markets, sales have increased online. Buyers favour online shopping as they can get their desired varieties from anywhere in the country.

The trade became popular during the Covid-19 pandemic, as young entrepreneurs made use of social media to advertise mangoes and sold them countrywide via various courier services.

A lot of these entrepreneurs are college or university students and continue the trade alongside their studies.

Due to the good customer response over the past few years, more people are becoming interested in the online mango trade. The trade is already ongoing and in full swing as the season reaches its peak. The traders expect sales to exceed last year’s.

Crates full of mangoes are transported via courier services or train to different parts of the country. The more positive reviews an online trader gets, the more customers they attract, hence they are careful about the product and packaging.

A recent graduate and resident of Boropukuria area of the upazila Arifur Rahman said he moved back home during the pandemic and wanted to make use of the idle time.

“I started the online mango business by posting about them on Facebook. I sold about five to six maunds of mango per day for about three months last year. I sold about Tk 5 lakh worth of mangoes,” he said.

Arifur expects his sales to exceed last year’s as the buyers’ response has been good. According to him, buyers prefer buying mangoes online as they get formalin-free mangoes straight to their homes.

Many young entrepreneurs like Arifur are associated with online mango businesses nowadays.

They pick mangoes after receiving orders online and pack and send them straight from the orchard using courier services. The payment is done via mobile banking, making the transaction cashless and hassle-free.

Some new entrepreneurs who joined the trade recently said that they are getting good responses even though it is a new venture for them. So far they have not faced any fraud and expect their trade to go well.

However, they also said that if the cost of the courier was less, it would have been beneficial for them.

Jamil Ahmed, another young entrepreneur, said that besides his studies, he has been doing mango business online since last year.

“Trust between the buyer and the seller is the main component in online business. Sometimes mangoes get infested as we do not use harmful chemicals but we try to ensure the best quality products for our customers,” he added.

Runa Begum, a teacher from Dhaka, prefers buying mangoes online from the orchards of Natore.

“These mangoes have a better taste than the ones sold in the markets of Dhaka. I get to have fresh mangoes right from the orchard without any hassle,” she said, adding that her friends and neighbours also prefer buying fruits online nowadays.

Meanwhile, the district administration has set the mango harvest schedule as local small variety mangoes from May 15, Gopalbhog from May 20, Lakshmanbhog and Ranipachanda from May 25, Khirsapat from May 30, Langra from June 10, Mohanbhog and Amrapali from June 20, Haribhanga and Fazli from June 25, July 5 to Mallika, Bari-4 from 10th July, Ashwina from 20th July and lastly Gaurmati mangoes from 20th August.

Upazila Agriculture Officer Dr Bhabasindhu Roy said most of the online mango traders are college-university students or unemployed youth.

“I welcome their initiative as they are becoming financially sustainable by making use of their resources,” he said.