Agriculture minister Md Abdus Shahid on Friday warned about the rise of mango syndicates tampering with the popular summer fruit price this year.
鈥楾his year, mango production is comparatively less. So, there can be syndicates of mango dealers. Everyone should be careful about this. That farmers get fair prices is our aim. We will not allow any syndicate,鈥� he said while talking to journalists after visiting mango orchards at Kumorpur village of Godagari upazila in Rajshahi.
In reply to a question that a huge number of mangoes is wasted each year due to the lack of perseveration systems, the minister said that they had a plan to build one cold storage in each of the eight divisions so that mango and other agricultural products could be preserved for some time.
聽鈥榃e will have to wait for it as a huge amount of money is needed. We want to do it with domestic and foreign cooperation,鈥� he said.
Later, the minister held a view exchange meeting with the farmers at Kumorpur village at about 12:10pm.
World Bank programme manager Michael John Webster, Coca-Cola Bangladesh Limited managing director Ju-un Nahar Chowdhury and Godagari upazila parishad chairman Belal Uddin Sohel spoke at the meeting as special guests.
At the meeting, Abdus Shahid said that India, China, Russia, and Belarus were interested in buying Rajshahi mangoes. 鈥楽oon a Chinese delegation will visit Rajshahi. I have already directed some officials to determine the correct price of mangoes after talking with the delegation,鈥� he added.
Earlier in the morning, the agriculture minister inspected paddy cultivation using water-efficient technology in the Bijayanagar area in Godagari upazila. After that, he visited a nursery in the Sonadighi area, where seedlings are being produced using advanced technology.
