Chapainawabganj mango prices to be higher due to smaller harvest

Farmers in Chapainawabganj are hoping for higher prices for their mangoes due to a smaller harvest as mango trees budded late this year for severe cold in the winter and many more buds dried up amid the recent heat wave.

According to bdnews24.com, farmers are busy trying to protect and manage the rest mangoes that are still growing. But many farmers in areas without irrigation are looking to the skies for salvation.

A farmer expressed hope, “If it rains, we will still get a good harvest from the fruit that is left. And when the mango harvest is smaller, prices tend to be higher.”

Munzer Alam Manik, general secretary of the Chapainawabganj Agricultural Association, said “If a tree buds a lot one year, it usually buds less the next. Not too many mangoes have dried up and fallen off yet. However, if the heat is extended, the mango yield will drop.”

Emphasising on irrigation, he said, “Orchards have been advised to irrigate, but not all areas have irrigation facilities. Electricity also costs more on agricultural metres and commercial metres. This raises the production cost of mangoes.”

Mokhlesur Rahman, chief scientific officer of the Chapainawabganj Regional Horticulture Research Centre also urged the farmers to irrigate orchards regularly due to the intense heat.

Farmers in the district have cultivated mangoes on about 37,604 hectares of land this season. There are nearly 7.58 million mango trees and the target for mango production is 450,000 tonnes. The mangoes will hit the market in another few days.