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Published:
2019-06-15 21:36:03 BdST

Rajshahi starts exporting mango to 7 foreign countries


Bagha upazila in Rajshahi district has started exporting mango to seven foreign countries as it produces tasty and super quality mango for long.

Around 2.8 tonnes of Heemsagar and Langra varieties mango have already
been exported to various chain super markets in England, Netherlands, Sweden,
Norway, Portugal, France and Russia after meeting up the local demands.

Besides, Agora Super Shop in the capital took away five tonnes of mangoes
from the area.

“We are exporting mangoes to the foreign markets for the last four years,”
said Shafiullah Sultan, upazila agriculture officer.

The export of mangoes started through joint venture of Hotex Foundation and
Bagha Upazila Agriculture Extension Office under the supervision of the Food
and Agriculture Organization, he added.

Agriculturist Sultan further mentioned 50 mango orchard owners have been
listed and were given certificates after giving them training on “Production
of safe and insecticide free mangoes through best farm management”.

The trained farmers produce safe and poison-free mango weighting from 200
to 300 grams each. Samples of some of mangoes produced through these farmers
were tested in the laboratory of BSTI in Dhaka to ensure those were pesticide
and toxic chemical free.

A team from the Ministry of Commerce has already visited the mango
orchards in Bagha. For the fourth time, mangoes of this upazila are being
exported abroad.

“We have set a target to export 33 tonnes of mangoes during the current
season,” Agriculturist Sultan said, adding that more than 8,368 hectares of
land covered with mango orchards in the upazila and the growers earn around
Taka 400 to 500 crore from the cash crop every season.

Two lead farmers of Kaligram village, Md Asafuddowla and Mohsin Ali, said
the mango exporting venture has made the farmers happy in the mango-producing
areas as they are getting good market price.

Shahin Reza, upazila agriculture officer in Bagha, said the export of
quality mangoes from Bagha is increasing day by day. He expressed the hope
that this year farmers of Bagha will be successful in exporting mango like
that of last year.

A huge enthusiasm is being noticed among the mango farmers to export the
fruit. Fruit bagging process in mango is gradually being popular among mango
farmers of Bagha upazila.

Upazila administration was also regularly supervising the mango orchards
to ensure production of quality mangoes there.

Dr Alim Uddin, principal scientific officer of Fruit Research Station,
said the mangoes of Bagha being very good in taste, texture and quality,
which were now being exported to various countries.

To produce pesticide-free and quality mangoes, farmers of the areas are
using ‘fruit bagging process’ to save the fruit from the pest attack and keep
the texture of the fruit fresh and natural.

He further said the fruit bagging process also saves the mango from
various natural catastrophes like excessive rain and storm and a fruit bagged
mango does not damaged by being hit with branches during storm.

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