RANGPUR, May 15 (BSS): The litchi growers are now happy following excellent production and attractive price of litchis. The delicious, juicy and fleshy seasonal fruit has already appeared in local markets of the northern districts.
Though harvest of the high quality hybrid variety litchis will start after a couple of weeks, the ripe and half-ripe local varieties and some high yielding litchis have already started flooding the local markets. Prices are beyond the reach of the commoners.
At this initial stage of harvesting, the local variety small-sized litchis are being sold between Tk 200 and 300 per every hundred pieces. The half-ripe and ripe high yielding varieties are being sold between Tk 350 and 400, market sources said.
Meanwhile, big litchi traders or their representatives from different parts of the country have already flocked to the region and purchased the fruit in advance from the orchard owners as in the previous seasons.
Harvesting, packaging and marketing of litchis have created job opportunities in Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Gaibandha, Panchagarh and other northern districts.
Harvest of the high yielding and hybrid variety litchis like Madrazi, Bombay, Bedana, China-3, Golapi and Mozaffar will start little later this month or in the first week of the next month.
Experts, farmers and businessmen predicted a record business of around Tk 40 billion (Tk 4,000 crore) in greater Rangpur and Dinajpur districts alone this season.
Renowned agriculture scientist Dr M A Mazid and agronomist Anarul Haque predicted a bumper production of litchi in the region including greater Rangpur and Dinajpur districts.
Horticulture specialist of the DAE Khondker Md Mesbahul Islam said over 85 per cent of the litchi trees in about 9,000 small, medium and big-sized litchi orchards and homesteads bloomed earlier this season.
Presently, hundreds of litchi orchards have been set up on commercial basis in Dinajpur, Rangpur, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Thakurgaon, Panchagarh and other northern districts
The farmers have mostly been cultivating high yielding varieties like China-3 and Bedana, early varieties like Bombay, Mozaffarpuri and Madrazi and late variety Kanthali litchi following repeated bumper production and lucrative price every year.
Litchi growers Shamsul Haque, Abdur Rahman, Harunur Rashid, Aminul Haque, Abdus Sobhan and Jomshed Ali said they are expecting bumper litchi yield this time like in the previous seasons and hoped to earn good profits.
