Mangoes are exported from Rajshahi every season. The first shipment of mangoes is ready to be exported this season too.
On Friday, the district's mango growers prepared 3,000 kg of himsagar mangoes for export and sent it to Dhaka. These mangoes will be sent to the UK.
Following the official rules, the concerned farmers in the district started collecting himsagar mangoes from the orchards on Friday. A 20-member association, the 'Contact Farming Group' of mango farmers, is responsible for exporting mangoes from Bagha upazila of the district. The members of the association signed an agreement at the beginning of this season to export mangoes to foreign buyers.
Shafiqul Islam, president of that organisation, said mangoes have been exported to the European market directly from Rajshahi for three years by now. However, mangoes could not be exported last year due to the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. He said mangoes were sent from his orchard for export to the UK on Friday.
Shafiqul further said that himsagar mangoes have been sold at Tk 80 per kilogram. Mangoes will also be sent for export from other orchards in phases.
Special care has to be taken after a mango tree is selected for export. Speaking to Prothom Alo in this regard, Bagha upazila agriculture officer Shafiullah Sultan said the issues related to the care of the mango trees are mentioned in the export agreement.
According to the agreement, a balanced amount of fertilizer has to be used to qualify for mango export. The use of contaminated water for irrigation is completely prohibited. Specific amounts of pesticides must be used, the orchards must be kept clean and grass must not be allowed to grow in the orchard.
The method of collecting mangoes is also specified in the export agreement. Each of the mangoes has to be picked with the stalk from the trees selected for export. Later, the unnecessary parts are cut off leaving a certain part of stem with the mango. Besides, mangoes have to be sorted and graded too. It depends on the types of the mangoes.
According to the export agreement, every himsagar mango must weigh more than 200 grams. All mangoes must be of the same size too. Mangoes with spots must be excluded. After sorting, each mango has to be packed separately wrapped in paper.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension supervise every phase from collection, selection and packaging of mangoes for export. Then the fruit is sent for export with the certificate of upazila agriculture officer.
Shafiullah Sultan said that without this certificate, mangoes cannot be exported.
He further said the mangoes selected from Rajshahi are exposed to “hot water treatment” after being transported to Dhaka. However, the whole consignment might get cancelled upon finding any fruit fly or larva.
Regarding exporting mangoes to the UK, Shahriar Alam , local MP and state minister for foreign affairs, told Prothom Alo that it is the result of the consistent efforts in the last few years. The government has taken initiative to set up a quarantine centre soon for exporting fruits and vegetables from Rajshahi. Mangoes from the orchards in Bagha upazila will also be exported to other countries through different agencies.