Mango season in Kanbalu District ends

 

June 22

 

MANGO season in Kanbalu District, Sagaing Region has come to an end after harvesting Seintalone and other mango varieties, said U Than Tun Oo, an official of the Agriculture Department’s nursery farm in Sagaing Region.

 

“Seintalone mango harvest season lasted from the middle of May to the of May. Shwehintha and Padamyar Ngamauk mango varieties are harvested in June. High-quality mango fetches K150-200 per piece, while low-quality mango was priced at K70-80 per piece. Mango of inferior quality is distributed to the domestic market. A mango basket carrying 60 pieces is worth K8,000-10,000. After harvesting Padamyar Ngamauk and Shwehintha mango varieties around 20 June, mango season shut down,” he elaborated.

 

At present, cutting mango branches and soil treatment for the next season are being undertaken. Only about 2,000 out of 3,000 acres of mango plantation in Kanbalu and Kyunhla townships yielded fruit. However, the yield rate is down by one-third this year.

 

“The yield rate per acre varies on the age of mango trees. A 12-year-old mango tree can produce 80 to 100 mangoes. The yield rate is over 300 in the young mango tree,” said U Than Tun Oo.

 

This year, the mango market does not go well as mango growers have to bear additional charges like transportation charges to China owing to the virus policy.

 

“If a mango basket is offered K35,000, a grower earns a profit of only K14,000. The high transport cost hinders the trade,” he added.

 

Some brokers came to Kanbalu District to purchase Seintalone, while some farms deliver the mango to Muse border trade zone and domestic markets such as Yangon, Mandalay, Shwebo, Monywa and Myitkyina.

 

“If mango meets quality criteria in Muse border, it is priced at K200 per piece. If they are ripe in Muse, it is worth only K80-100 per piece. If it takes five to six days to transport the mangoes to Muse, the over-ripe mangoes are discarded. Some growers make losses either. Yet, most of the farmers generate a certain profit,” U Than Tun Oo stated. — Lu Lay/GNLM