25. Assessing the profitability and problems of langra mango variety marketing in Chapai Nawabganj district of Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper attempted to identify the major market actors of mango marketing in Chapai Nawabganj district of Bangladesh. The research also examined the structure of marketing costs and net margin obtained by the mango market actors and highlighted the major problems faced by the traders. Primary data were collected from 40 mango traders by using simple random sampling technique from mid-June to mid-July 2018. A pretested semi-structured interview schedule was used for data collection and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Faria, Bepari, wholesaler, and retailer were the major market actors in the study areas. The average purchase price of mango by Faria was Tk. 33,000.0/ton, Tk. 33,450.0/ton for Bepari, Tk. 35,450.0/ton for wholesaler and Tk. 41,050.0/ton for retailer. Bepari incurred the highest marketing cost (Tk. 4,800.0/ton) due to long-distance coverage followed by the retailer (Tk.3,190.0/ton), wholesaler (Tk. 3,020.0/ton), and Faria (Tk.1410.0/ton). The average selling price of mango was Tk. 53680.0/ton for the retailer, Tk. 45,200.0/ton for Bepari, Tk. 44,450.0/ton for wholesaler and Tk. 42,270.0/ton for Faria. Retailer received the highest net margin (Tk. 9,117.9/ton) followed by Faria (Tk. 6,887.8/ton), Bepari (Tk. 3,831.2/ton) and wholesaler (Tk. 2,926.3/ton). Market actors mentioned different problems and suggestions for mango marketing in the study area. Lack of capital and unstable price of mango were the important problems of traders. They need available capital with a low interest rate. Government and different organization may establish cold storage in the study area, which may help to stabilize mango price.