STORY: Bangladesh's "Capital of Mango" produces organic fruit in Chinese way
DATELINE: July 2, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:20
LOCATION: Dhaka
CATEGORY: TECHNOLOGY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Kansat mango market
2. various of the farmers harvesting mangoes
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Bengali): YAKUB ALI MILON, Mango trader
4. various of Kansat mango market
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Bengali): ARIFUL ISLAM, Mango grower and mango trader
6. various of Kansat mango market
7. various of Kansat mango market

STORYLINE:

Chapainawabganj district, some 302 km northwest of the capital Dhaka, is a main mango-growing area in Bangladesh.

Dubbed the "Capital of Mango" in the South Asian country, Chapainawabganj has been famous for producing high-quality, chemical-free mangoes.
   
Local mango growers said favorable weather conditions and the use of Chinese methods have helped yield a bumper production.
   
SOUNDBITE 1 (Bengali): YAKUB ALI MILON, Mango trader
"This packet comes to our country through Chinese researchers. Chinese researchers think that using this packet will keep the mangoes better. We also tested that the mangoes are better using it.
If we don't use it, we have to use different types of pesticides. If we use (these) packets, we don't need to use pesticides.
Because of this packet, we are able to give organic mangoes to the buyers."

During the harvest season of mangoes, local growers and traders in Chapainawabganj are busy packing Chinese-style mangoes to sell them to elsewhere in the South Asian country and beyond.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Bengali): ARIFUL ISLAM, Mango grower and mango trader
"In this mango season, I work for three to four months to earn the whole year and I have 10 other workers working here. This mango season I've set a minimum mango sales target of 10,000 maunds (about 370,000 kg)."

In Chapainawabganj alone, Bangladesh's Department of Agricultural Extension said the fruit was cultivated on 37,000 hectares of land this year, with the production target set at 400,000 tonnes.

Mango growers and agriculture officials are expecting sales of the mouthwatering fruit to be worth about 80 billion taka (about 744,000 U.S. dollars) this season from May to August.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Dhaka.
(XHTV)