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The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown have put mango and litchi growers into great trouble.
Limited transportation, coupled with poor demand, has been forcing many farmers to leave mangoes in trees to rot at this surreal time, said insiders.
Growers in south-western regions, where mango starts to mature within the first week of May, are already counting losses, according to gardeners.
However, farmers in north and north-western parts are also in fear as both mango and lychee will be ready to pluck within the next two and half weeks.
Jamal Biswas, mango grower from Jaynagar union of Kolaroa upazila in Satkhira, said his Himsagor mango orchard on two hectares of land has almost matured.
He is not collecting fruits as traders from distant districts are yet to visit Jaynagarbazar amid lockdown.
"Apart from Himsagor," Mr Biswas said, "my Gopalbhog variety will start ripening within one and half weeks."
He said there is no option but to let them spoil for a dearth of labourers.
Mr Biswas is expecting 37-38 tonnes of mango from his garden this year.
Still, he is said to be going to lose even his 0.85 million of investment.
Mango and litchi growers in Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Natore, Pabna, Dinajpur and Rangpur are also in a tight corner.
Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan, a mango gardener-cum-trader at Kansat under Shibganj sub-district, said they are going to suffer a great loss for continued lockdown.
Farmers in his locality said they would even lose their investment for the pandemic that has put a damper on buying orders.
Mr Bhuiyan said, "Traders from Dhaka, Chattogram, Narayanganj and other districts usually contact us during the March-April period with buying orders."
"But I didn't get any order yet," the distraught grower went on to say.
He has an orchard on seven hectares where he grows Lengra and Khirsapat varieties of mango. Both varieties will begin to ripen within weeks.
Small farmers are going to lose everything this year due to the virus pandemic, he uttered.
Mr Bhuiyan suggested the government immediately start railway parcel service from Rajshahi to various routes to minimise losses of mango and litchi farmers. Faridul Islam, a litchi planter at Birol, Dinajpur, said his fruit will be mature by the last week of May.
If lockdown continues to the end of May, he said, most of the litchi growers might witness massive losses.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), there are an estimated 9.0-million mango trees across the country.
DAE director general Dr Abdul Muyeed said they are expecting 2.6-million tonnes of mango output with 10-per cent growth this year for the persisting suitable weather for summer fruits.
The DAE in tandem with the respective district administrations will fix dates for mango collection in different regions within a few days.
Mr Muyeed said litchi output might also rise as he was expecting 60,000 tonnes of litchi this year.
Sadhan Chandra Das, a leading fruit trader in Dhaka, said city-dwellers annually consume more than 0.42-million tonnes of mango mostly imported from Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi, Satkhira and Rangpur.
More than 12,000 tonnes of litchi from Dinajpur, Rangpur, Pabna, Rajshahi, Narayanganj and Gazipur enter the capital every year, he mentioned. "Fruit trade is going to witness a 70-80 per cent plunge this year due to coronavirus lockdown," Mr Das said categorically.
Meanwhile, agri economist Golam Hafeez Kennedy said the government should make transportation smooth for farm produce to boost farmers.
Maintaining sound production is now obligatory to sustain during the pandemic period, he opined.
Mr Kennedy said the government has taken a good initiative by opening railway parcel service on three routes.
The service should be available across the country to help farmers to sustain.
Small and medium farmers should be compensated for their losses, the agronomist concluded.