Lychees start appearing in Rajshahi markets

With 15 more days left for the Bangla month of Jyestha to appear, commonly known as “Modhumash”, the juicy fruit lychees has started appearing in the local markets including Rajshahi city and its adjacent areas on a limited scale.

But due to the limited quantity, the present price is beyond the purchasing capacity of the commoners.

The summer season will bring many other juicy fruits like mango and jackfruit naturally to the region by mid-May and abundantly will infuse dynamism into the local economy like the previous years.

Seasonal traders set up makeshift shops at different points in the city especially Shaheb Bazar, Bindurmore, Laxmipur Bazar, Sheroil Bus Terminal, Railway Station, and Court Bazaar with the eye-catching fruit.

In the advent of the season, every 100 lychees fruits are being sold at Tk 400-450 based on quality and size.

Sellers said the price is high as the supply is limited but it will reduce to some extent within the next couple of days. Trader Shamim Hossain in the Shaheb Bazar area said many farmers are harvesting immature lychees with the hope of getting more money.

Dr Alim Uddin, principal scientific officer of Fruit Research Station, said only the local varieties of lychees have started appearing in the markets at present. But, the Bombay variety is expected to hit the markets in abundance within the next couple of weeks.

He said many people are being benefitted by growing lychees as China-3 (hybrid), Bombay, and Madrazi are the most popular varieties in the region. Lychees are grown well in Rajshahi and Dinajpur districts but the lychees of Ishwardi district is very delicious and famous across the country, Dr Alim added.

In addition to commercial farming, high-yielding China-3, Bombay and Madrazi variety lychees are also being cultivated on homestead lands.

He said commercial farming of some of the fruits especially mango and lychees are gradually increasing in the region.

Dr Alim, however, mentioned that satisfactory flowering was seen in many of the trees in the region including Ishwardi, which is famous for lychees production, during the current season will create a positive impact on total production.

Abdur Razzaque of Kapasia village said all of his 30 lychees trees on one bigha of land bloomed a scant amount this year and there were a low number of ‘guti’ (young lychees) on the branches.

Sharing his personal experience, he said a five-year-old tree can produce around 100 to 150 kilograms of lychees which are equivalent to 2,000 to 6,000 pieces of fruits in number. Most of the families at Bargachhi, Bagsara, Charghat, and Bagha have become economically solvent by cultivating the fruit.

Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) Khayer Uddin Mollah said many people became self-reliant by cultivating lychees in recent years.