DHAKA: A bumper crop of mangoes this year has reduced orchard owners and traders to tears. Not only has the excess production led to a case of supply outstripping demand, thus pushing down prices drastically, the export of the king of fruits to Bangladesh has also stopped this season.
True to the merchants’ claim, varieties like Himsagar and Lakshmanbhog or Langra are selling in Malda’s retail markets at Rs 5-6 per kg.
Woe-struck, mango farmers and traders in the district met chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who visited Malda on Monday, looking for a redressal to their grievances. “The mango yield of West Bengal stands at about 10 lakh tonnes this year. Malda district alone has produced 5 lakh metric tonnes of the fruit. This is an all-time record,” said secretary of Malda Merchants Chamber of Commerce Uzzwal Saha.
According to Saha, four years ago, the Union government notified Malda as a mango and litchi export zone, fuelling dreams that the district would become the hub for abroad trade of these two fruits to foreign countries, including places in Europe. But, he claimed, neither the Union nor the state government has taken any step in all these years to facilitate exports; the announcement remained just that—a mere proclamation.
Bangladesh, which has traditionally been a big market for Malda mangoes, recently imposed a huge duty on the fruit to be bought across the border. Importers in Bangladesh have to pay a steep tax of Rs 36 per kg of imported mangoes. Following the imposition of the astronomical rate, importers there lost interest in Malda mangoes with not a single bag being bought from India so far this year. Merely three years ago, 3 lakh metric tonnes of mangoes from Malda made their way to the country.
Aggrieved by the move, Exporters’ Association of Bengal joint secretary Samir Ghosh said, “SAARC countries had agreed against imposing duty on imported perishables. But the Bangladesh government violated this commitment when it imposed such a high duty charge. We were shocked that our chief minister failed to raise the issue with the authorities there during her recent visit to Bangladesh.” Now, Assam and the rest of the Northeast comprise the only market for Malda mangoes. “But our trade to that region is also suffering due to the highhandedness of the police in north Bengal,” alleged Ghosh.
Chief minister Banerjee expressed her concern over the crisis in Malda. “It is true that this season witnessed a bumper mango crop. We want our farmers to get their due prices. But export of mangoes to Bangladesh or any other country is not a state subject. We’ll take up the issue of Bangladesh imposing tariff barriers on mango with our external affairs ministry,” she told mango exporters on Monday.
Following a meeting with the Malda district administration, the chief minister ordered a waiver of transport duty on trucks carrying mangoes out of the district. But mango farmers, traders and exporters, who are staring at huge losses this season, feel this “gift” is too little too late.
