District Agriculture Develop-ment Office (DADO) said mango production decreased due to frequent storms.

Mango is cultivated on 5,000 hectares of land in Siraha, according to DADO. “Around 20,000 tonnes of different verities of mangos were produced in the district,” said Pradeep Thakur, senior agriculture development officer at DADO.

The mangos produced in Siraha and Saptari are usually supplied to big markets like Kathmandu and Pokhara. But this year, due to low production, most of the local productions are expected to be consumed within Siraha and other surrounding districts.

Despite soaring prices, the farmers complained wholesalers were purchasing mangoes from then without weighing and that they were not getting fair price for their produce.

Hari Mahato, a farmer from Govindapur, said the traders offer Rs800 for 100 units of the fruit. “We are not getting fair price as we have been forced to sell the fruit without proper weighing,” he said, but the traders do not sell the fruit on per unit basis.

According to Bishnu Dev Ram, a wholesaler from Lahan-1, mango price soared to Rs70 per kg from last year’s Rs30-40. “Due to a drop in supply, the prices have soared,” he said.

The district produces different varieties of mangos such as Aamrapali, Maldaha, Bambai, Dashhari and Kolkatia.