Collage Photo -BSS

CHAPAINAWABGANJ, Aug 11, 2026 (BSS) - Mango trading has become brisk in the district as the season nears its end, with large numbers of buyers and sellers gathering at the district’s major mango markets.

Although trading has gained momentum in the final phase of the season, many growers say they failed to receive prices that matched their production costs throughout most of the season. While prices have increased somewhat toward the end, disappointment still lingers among many farmers. Traders, however, reportedly enjoyed a profitable season.

At Kansat, the district’s largest mango market, trading of late-season and year-round varieties -- including Ashwina, BARI-4, BARI-8, Gaurmati, Banana and Katimon -- is continuing in full swing. 

Thousands of maunds of mangoes are being traded at the market every day, and the presence of buyers and sellers remains noticeable even at the tail end of the season.

Speaking at Kansat market on Tuesday morning, mango grower Hasibul Hasan Babu of Binodpur union in Shibganj upazila said the mango season was almost over. He said he sold Ashwina mangoes for Taka 3,800 per maund that day, but the price was not satisfactory considering production costs.

Another grower, Monirul Islam of Durlabhpur union, sold BARI-4 mangoes at Taka7,000 per maund at Kansat market. He said the variety used to fetch a much higher price several years ago. Although prices are somewhat better now, he added, growers failed to get their expected returns at the beginning of the season.

Mango grower and media worker Farhad Ali brought Katimon mangoes to the market and sold them for Taka 6,000 per maund. While he was somewhat satisfied with the price, he also expressed disappointment over the overall mango market this year.

Abdur Razzak, a trader who has been involved in online mango trading for a long time, said mango prices had increased slightly toward the end of the season, but the market remained unstable throughout the year. Traders like him, however, managed to make profits, he said.

Grower Abul Hasnat said Shibganj produces more mangoes than the other four upazilas of the district combined. He recalled that Fazli mangoes were once cultivated in nearly 80 percent of the orchards in the area. In recent years, however, newer varieties such as Banana, Katimon, Amrapali and BARI-4 have increasingly entered the market around the time Fazli mangoes are harvested.

As a result, demand for these newer varieties is now higher during the late Fazli harvesting period, leaving growers with lower prices for Fazli mangoes, he said.

Sentu Mia, a mango grower from the Maharajpur area of Sadar upazila, said he had been involved in mango cultivation for nearly two decades. About 10 years ago, mango farming was profitable, but growers have struggled to earn satisfactory returns in recent years.

“Production costs have increased, but mango prices have not risen proportionately,” he said.

Abu Taleb, president of the Shibganj Mango Aratdar Association, said the livelihoods of more than 100,000 people in Chapainawabganj are linked to the mango industry. Production costs are rising every year, but growers are not receiving prices that reflect those increases, he said.

He warned that the mango industry is now facing a serious threat and called for the development of mango processing industries, stronger research activities and the establishment of a full-fledged mango research institute to sustain the sector.

Meanwhile, mangoes at Kansat, Rohanpur and other markets in the district are currently selling at approximately Taka 2,000-Taka 5,000 per maund for Ashwina, Taka 8,000-Taka 12,000 for BARI-4, Taka 5,000-Taka 7,000 for Gaurmati, Taka 5,000-Taka 8,000 for Katimon and Taka 12,000-Taka 15,000 for Banana varieties.

According to Atikul Islam, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Chapainawabganj, mangoes were cultivated on 37,487 hectares of land in the district this season, with a production target of 458,912 metric tonnes.

He said supplies of several varieties, including Ashwina, Gaurmati, Banana and BARI-4, were continuing even in the final stage of the season.