By Rezaul Karim Jibon
Published: 16 June 2025
Although the official harvest of Haribhanga mangoes begins on June 20 every year, this year farmers and traders have started harvesting mangoes from the trees early due to the intense heat wave. However, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension, the harvest of 'Haribhanga' mangoes, a GI product of Rangpur, officially began on Sunday as they are ripe.
Mithapukur Upazila Kushi Officer Muhammad Saiful Abedin officially confirmed the mango planting on Sunday (June 15) afternoon.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, the area under cultivation of Haribhanga mango in Rangpur district this time is 1,915 hectares. Of this, 1,268 hectares is in Mithapukur. The potential production of Haribhanga mango in the district has been estimated at 29,851 metric tons. Of this, 26,000 metric tons is in Mithapukur. Talking to mango farmers, traders and officials of the agriculture department, it has been learned that even though the average price is 50-60 taka per kg, the transaction in Rangpur this season will exceed about 200 crore taka, centered on the sale of potted mangoes. It is also known that 300 crore taka will be arranged for courier services, twine, carrots, paper and other transactions.
It can be seen on the ground that people start picking mangoes in the orchards from very early morning. Each member of the household, centered around the orchard, picks mangoes with a special quota. The mangoes are sorted by size and then packed into cartons. Those who have bought the orchards have started picking mangoes by hiring workers. Overall, a strong presence of people has been observed in the mango orchards.
Meanwhile, Padaganj Hat, famous for its pot-cracking mangoes, is filled with new mangoes. On the first day of this season, Padaganj Hat is full to the brim. Mangoes have started arriving in auto-rickshaws, vans and pickups in Padaganj since morning. Many people have been seen standing on the road in front of the hat with mangoes in their bicycles and vans and selling them. The sale of mangoes has become bustling with the presence of buyers and sellers. Not only in Padaganj Hat, such scenes have been seen in various areas including Khoragach, Paikarhat, Moenpur, Changmari, Balua Masumpur, Qutubpur, Gopalpur, Lohanipara, Ramnathpur, Kalupara, which are the main production areas of pot-cracking mangoes on the first day of the season. There is a rush to sell pot-cracking mangoes in these areas. The gathering of people in the markets proves that these areas are like the kingdom of broken mangoes. Mangoes can be seen being loaded onto trucks from several warehouses near Padaganj Hat for marketing in different parts of the country, including Dhaka. The loaded mango trucks will go to different parts of the country. A dozen courier service offices have already been rented for the sale of mangoes. Mango bookings are being taken from those offices. After booking throughout the day, those courier service vehicles will leave at night. In all, mango orchard owners, mango pickers, people involved in orchard maintenance, seasonal mango sellers, online mango sellers, transport traders, courier service traders, everyone is busy buying and selling mangoes in their own way.
Ripe mangoes have arrived in the morning at various markets in the city, including the Mango Market, City Market, Lalbagh, Modern More, Dhap Market, and Shapla Chattar, which are located adjacent to the Rangpur Central Bus Terminal. In addition to the markets, ripe mangoes have been seen being sold by ferry in the alleys of the neighborhood.
Depending on the size of the mango, the wholesale price of mangoes in the market ranges from a minimum of 1,500 taka to a maximum of 2,400 taka per maund. However, traders have said that the market price of mangoes will be slightly higher if the weather is tolerable. Garden owner Rabiul Islam said that mango planting has started from today considering the weather conditions. Wholesalers and buyers have not come yet. They will come in a day or two when the mango planting is known. Moreover, since it is the beginning of the season, the price has not increased yet. The price will increase in a day or two. However, farmers say that once the ripe Haribhanga mango is harvested, it cannot be kept for more than two or three days. There is no effective method for its preservation. If the correct process for preserving this mango was known, it would have been possible to meet the local demand and export it abroad in large quantities. For several years, they have been demanding a specialized cold storage facility in this region to preserve Haribhanga mango. On the other hand, due to the supply of Haribhanga mangoes to the country and abroad, the demand for plastic carats, twine, cages, paper and other accessories has increased. The prices of these essential items have increased this time compared to last year. Last year, a Bengali carat was 110 taka at this time, but now it is 120 taka, while a good quality carat was 120-130 taka last time, but now it is 130-150 taka. The prices of twine and paper have also increased.
Rangpur Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension, Md. Sirajul Islam told Dhaka Mail, "Rangpur's Haribhanga mango is now a GI product. Rangpur's agricultural economy has been boosted by this Haribhanga mango. Although the buds on the mango trees have been reduced this year, the size and yield of the mangoes have been good. However, due to excessive heat, Haribhanga reached the market before the scheduled time, but the actual time is June 15. Accordingly, mango planting has officially started from today. The price is still low. However, there is a possibility of it increasing in a day or two.
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