YASIR WARDAD
Scorching heatwaves across the country, coupled with rising fertiliser and agri input costs, have pushed mango prices to an all-time high this summer.
Orchard owners say this year's yield is over 40 per cent less compared to the previous season. Irrigation costs for mango farms alone have surged at least fourfold.
These factors have soured the mango market, and now threaten exports of the fruit.
Popular mango varieties like Himsagar/Khirsapat, Langra, Amrapali and Fazli have seen their prices skyrocket to Tk 120-180 per kg in Dhaka's retail markets -- registering a hike of more than 70-80 per cent compared to last year.
Traders say exports have declined by 30 per cent so far due to the higher prices, compounded by rising packaging and freight charges.
Last June, the wholesale price of Himsagar mangoes was Tk 41 per kg, which has risen to Tk 79 per kg this year, according to the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM).
Similarly, the price of Langra has jumped from Tk 39 to Tk 80.86 per kg and Amrapali is fetching an all-time high of Tk 72.58 per kg in northern district Naogaon.
Motaher Hossain Badal, a fruit trader in Dhaka's Badamtoli wholesale fruit market, said prices have more than doubled in mango hubs like Satkhira, Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj and Naogaon compared to last year.
Prices further increased by a big margin after Eid-ul-Azha, he said.
There is a discrepancy between the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) and orchard owners regarding the extent of the yield decline.
While the DAE estimated a 15-20 per cent decrease compared to last year, orchard owners claimed a much steeper drop exceeding 40 per cent. Late budding and insufficient rainfall were also contributing factors to the rise in production costs.
Many orchards in major mango-producing regions like Naogaon, Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi and Rangpur have borne no fruit this season.
"Production in my two orchards is half what it was last year. Many trees did not bear fruit at all. The flowers bloomed first, then fell off," said Jahir Alam, a mango grower at Laldighi in Badarganj, Rangpur.
He said the intense heatwave in April caused irrigation costs to soar to Tk 5,000 per orchard, up from Tk 1,000-1,200 last year. Fertiliser prices and other agri inputs have also risen.
"The combination of low production due to the heatwave and high output costs has driven up mango prices," he added.
According to the DAE, 2.45 million tonnes of mangoes were produced on 0.2 million hectares of land last year.
Mohammad Arifur Rahman, director of the exportable mango production project under the Ministry of Agriculture, said this year's mango export target is 3,100 tonnes, compared to 3,092 tonnes last year.
The country exports Gopalbhog, Himsagar, Amrapali, Fazli, Surma Fazli and Bari-4 mango varieties to foreign markets including England, Germany, Italy and France.
Firoze Pasha, proprietor of mango exporter Shera Aam, said the key problem is the reduced availability of freight space for mangoes and other fresh produce on flights.
He said freight costs have also risen to $4.0-4.5 per kg, which is 30-40 per cent higher than competitors like India, Thailand and Vietnam. "The local price at the orchards has also increased by 90-100 per cent, making exports more difficult this year."
He predicted a minimum 30 per cent decline in margo exports this year.
Manzurul Islam, adviser to the Bangladesh Vegetable Fruits and Allied Products Exporters Association, said, "The high local price of mangoes is hurting exports."
Rising packaging and air freight charges are also making Bangladeshi mangoes less competitive, he added. "These factors have squeezed exporter profits, discouraging many this year."
However, mango production project Director Mohammad Arifur Rahman remained optimistic.
He said, "There is still a high demand for Bangladeshi mangoes abroad. The number of exporters has also been increasing in recent years."
tonmoy.wardad@gmail.com