Mandarin business prospers this season

Mandarin business prospers this season

The situation of mandarin business took an even more favorable turn this season. 2024 was a year of unexpected prosperity for the local orange business, a chance for farmers to finally breathe a sigh of relief after years of grappling with fluctuating market prices and challenging weather conditions. Orange growers and exporters say that they could fetch good prices this time.

As the New Year dawned, the sight of oranges ripening in the sun brought hope and excitement to the farmers of central and southern Bhutan. They watched as the prices soared above Nu 2000 per box, even for the smaller-sized fruits.

Even at the lowest, on an average, the market price for the mandarin per box were USD 15 and USD 12 for meel (bigger size) and keel (smaller size) respectively.

The mandarin growers and exporters say that this surge in pricing was a result of a combination of factors, including favorable weather conditions and efficient supply chains. Retailers and farmers experienced better than expected returns, making it one of the best years for the industry.

Kiran Rai from Khatoeykha village under Logchina Gewog, Phuentsholing shared that his gross income from the mandarin business this year was about Nu 1 Million (M). Last year, he could earn only about Nu 0.7M.

Despite the situation taking an even more favorable turn for his business, he said that the mandarin production was less from this fruiting season. “In autumn, fruit trees were infected with diseases,” he said.

Bikash from the same village said that the price for orange never fetched good price like this year. However, his earning from the citrus business for both last year and this year remained same. “The fruiting was less this year sadly,” he added. It is observed that fruiting has been declining every year.

Although market prices sky rocketed this year, Tham Bdr Rai couldn’t earn like last year. He could earn about Nu 0.5M but this year it was just about Nu 0.3M. Mandarin from Tham Bdr Rai’s orchard was less this year.

The owner of Peling Export, Pemba said that there were no seasonal challenges in exporting oranges and they could fetch high price. Until date, Peling exported about 90 mandarin trucks to Bangladesh.

The exporters said that while they would be exporting their final mandarin load from Phuentsholing, they will continue from Gelephu for few more weeks.

The demand for Bhutanese oranges from neighboring Bangladesh increased significantly, while the supply decreased due to unexpected factors such as limited production. Though there is no official information from the relevant sources, Bhutanese mandarin growers and exporters said that Bangladesh did not import oranges from India. This has led to a price boom, further benefiting farmers and retailers, making it an unprecedented year for the orange trade in the region.

Meanwhile, Bhutan’s production faced unexpected limitations. Poor flower blooms in certain regions had led to a reduced harvest, meaning fewer fruits were available for export in spite of the farmers investing in the health of the trees.

Sangay Rabten from Thimphu