Malda: The famed 'Malda Mango' is now getting more queries from abroad as the old trees are used in making plywood. Even three mango saplings are planted for every felled tree.
Mango and Malda are substitutes for each other and the region is famous abroad for this summer fruit. As the district lacks heavy industries, Mango revolves around all talks of business. Mango pickle, jelly, thickened mango juice, and jam fall into the small-scale industry produce.
Now, businessmen are showing a new direction with the Mango Economy -- making plywood from old trunks of Mango trees which are gaining coinage in China and other nations. Traders say the business has already touched the threshold of Rs 100 crore and are certain about the plywood industry boosting the development of the economy of the district, benefitting the mango cultivation and expanding the mango orchards.
As per a central report, the Sino-Indian trade stood at $118.8 billion in the last fiscal, making China the largest trade partner. While Indo-American trade volume amounts to $118.3 billion. Russia and other nations are way behind. The Malda plywood has acquired some space in the business volume of China and the US.
Traders say the plywood is not only sturdy but also flexible, making it suitable for myriad furniture while other plywoods are not suitable for it. Being thin and smooth, Malaysian plywood was world-famous so much but with the advent of its Malda counterpart, the former is losing its sheen.
Politician Dulal Sarkar, also one of the big plywood traders with a number of manufacturing units, said, "I hail from a business family. I was responsible for the campaigning for Barkat Saheb (ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury, Former Minister of Railways of India) in the 1979 Lok Sabha elections. I started the mango business in 1995. Later I bought a plywood factory in front of Barkat Da's house and built another later".
"Plywoods need to be bent in other factories and the mango wood has no alternative for it as it's the most flexible. We use different chemicals and heat to manufacture it. The longevity of mango wood is more and we ship it to Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. Some traders in Delhi ship it abroad. China, the US and other countries bought plywood worth Rs 100 crore last year. The best quality mango woods are found in the Malda-Murshibad region. We buy the aged trees and plant three saplings for one. This will expand the cultivation area and boost the district's economy," he added.
Malda Timber Association's secretary Meghnad Karmakar said the district is dotted with big mango orchards but the productivity of aged trees has dwindled. Those are felled with permission of the forest department and replaced with three saplings. Various designs of plywood are shipped to different parts of India from where they are exported to different countries.
"Still we have not started exporting the plywood directly. The profit margin in this business is lucrative due to which there are about 150 factories in Malda and neighbouring regions. This will not only boost the local economy but also generate employment. Moreover, the business is eco-friendly," he said.
Jayanta Kundu, president of the Malda Chamber of Commerce, is certain about the positive impact of the industry on the district's economy.
"Earlier mago and its products were exported through Bangladesh. Now the mango plywood is being exported directly. This has brought new hope to the economy for the last few years and we shipped products worth Rs 100 core to China and other countries last year, opening a new horizon," Kundu said.
Rahmat Ali, a renowned mago farmer of the district, couldn't suppress his glee. "We have several mango trees of 100-150 years with reduced productivity. I think they should be replaced with new ones. Many new varieties of mango, produced through grafting, have entered the market. These are shorter, high yielding and a bigha of land can accommodate 40-50 of them. Earlier six saplings were planted in a bigha of land. Shorter trees are easy to maintain and are not damaged in storms. Felling old trees will make some species extinct but we have to go with time," he said.
Manirujjaman of Kotawali is a trader of mango woods and a cultivator. He said, "There is no point keeping the old trees as many new varieties are available. Planting those is more profitable".
"Aged mango trees naturally yield less and it's scientific to replace them with newer varieties. Presently, Malda has over 31,600 hectares of orchards. But cultivators must keep in mind that every old tree is replaced with three saplings. This will not only boost yield but also expand the field area," Samanta Layek, deputy director of the district horticulture department, said.
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