Answer: The issue that prevents mango production from contributing to Bangladesh’s economy is the lack of proper post-harvest management and value addition, which leads to high wastage and low export earnings.
Explanation: Mango is the most produced fruit in Bangladesh, with an annual output of about 1.2 million tonnes. However, mango production does not contribute much to Bangladesh’s economy because of the following reasons:
- Post-harvest losses: According to a study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Bangladesh loses about 35 percent of its mango production due to poor post-harvest handling, transportation, storage, and marketing. This amounts to a loss of about Tk 3,500 crore ($412 million) per year. The main causes of post-harvest losses are lack of cold chain facilities, inadequate packaging, pest infestation, fungal infection, and physical damage.
- Low Value Addition: Bangladesh mainly exports fresh mangoes, which have low value and high perishability. Bangladesh does not have adequate processing facilities or quality standards to produce value-added products such as dried mangoes, pulp, juice, jam, jelly, or pickles. These products have higher demand and profitability in the international markets than fresh mangoes.
- Limited Market Access: Bangladesh exports only a small fraction of its mango production, mainly to neighboring countries such as India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines. Bangladesh faces many barriers to access other lucrative markets such as the European Union, the United States, Japan, or China. These barriers include stringent sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements, high tariffs, lack of certification and accreditation, and low consumer awareness.
Therefore, the issue that prevents mango production from contributing to Bangladesh’s economy is the lack of proper post-harvest management and value addition, which leads to high wastage and low export earnings. To overcome this issue, Bangladesh needs to invest in improving its infrastructure, technology, skills, and policies related to mango production and trade.
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