From Chapainawabganj with love: mango sales go virtual

Online sale of mangoes are becoming an increasingly popular method of business for Chapainawabganj traders during the coronavirus pandemic.

The web-based market place is especially utilised by young entrepreneurs.

Saad Mahmud Rafi of Upar Rajarampur in the district town has been running his online business for the last two years. This time he has already sold over 120 maunds of mangoes of different varieties to Dhaka, Cumilla and Sylhet through 24Proyojon.com, an online shopping portal.

"I'm getting more responses from my online shop and Facebook this time compared to last year. I purchase fresh mangoes from different orchards, package them and then send it off via courier. Last year I sold only 40 kg mangoes," Saad said.  

Rokonuzzaman Shawan of Swarupnagar said he sold over 150 maunds of mangoes through 247haat.com, an online shopping portal in Chapainawabganj.

There is higher demand for mangoes this year compared to last, he said.

Tarik Hasan of the same area worked at a private media company in Dhaka. He left the city just before the nationwide closure due to Covid-19 and has now turned into a seasonal mango trader.

"I am getting massive response from my Facebook friends. I have sent around 40 maunds already and hope to send around 100 maunds more to the capital," Tarik told The Daily Star.

"I purchase fresh mangoes from different orchards and send them through courier every day," he said.

Masumuzzaman, a young entrepreneur from Maharajpur of Sadar upazila, started his mango business through a Facebook page for the first time this year, and has sold over 100 maunds of Gopalbhog, Khirsapat and Langra varieties.

Another businessman, Hasan Al Sadi, has been operating his online mango business from his village home at Chhatrajitpur under Shibganj upazila over the last eight years. He has his own mango orchard sprawled over ten bigha of land. This season he sold over 250 maunds of mangoes through his Facebook page.

"I am packaging my mangoes and sending them mainly to Dhaka through courier," Hasan said.

Muhammad Nazrul Islam, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Chapainawabganj, said over 300 young entrepreneurs are in this business currently.

"It is a very good initiative. They are sending fresh mangoes and are meeting customers' demand. They are ensuring delivery without any hassle," he said.

DAE has set a target of harvesting around two lakh tonnes of mangoes from 33,035 hectares of land in the district this season.

Last year, the production was 2.39 lakh tonnes from 30,820 hectares.