The full range of seasonal fruit has not yet reached the market, but mangoes from Satkhira and lychees from Ishwardi have arrived. These new fruits are in high demand, but prices are steep.

A tour of Dhaka markets on Saturday (18 May) found Satkhira's Gobindabhog mangoes selling at Tk 120 to 150 a kg. Some markets also had Himsagar mangoes, though not many, at more than Tk 180.

Ishwardi's famous Bombai lychees have also arrived, at Tk 450 to 500 per hundred, and more in some places.

Ishwardi in Pabna is known as the country's lychee capital, but its large, juicy lychees have not yet started arriving in full. The lychees now on sale are not very large, which is making buyers uneasy about the prices.

Shamsuzzaman, shopping for seasonal fruit at Rampura bazar, said: "The lychees are small, yet they are asking high prices. Prices are a bit high at first, but this time the quality is not good for the price." Many sellers say lychees are also coming from Dinajpur, he said, but lychees from other areas are not yet ripe.

Shafiq Mia, a lychee seller at Badda bazar, said the intense heat had reduced the lychee yield this year. "The size is also small, but the price is high."

Chan Mia, a wholesale fruit seller at Karwan Bazar, said the season's weather had been unfavourable for lychees, with cool nights, intense daytime heat and too little rain. Only 60 per cent of the trees flowered at the start, some fruitlets dropped in the harsh sun as they formed, and some lychees cracked and spoiled on the trees for lack of rain, so supply is short.

He said trading began two weeks ago with the local Mozaffar variety, and for a week the tasty Bombai and China-3 varieties have been arriving, with Ishwardi's Bombai now the largest share.

Mangoes from areas other than Satkhira are not yet ripe. Enamul Haque, another fruit seller at Badda bazar, said mango prices would fall in a few days. "The fruit is new and mostly coming only from Satkhira, so it is expensive even at the wholesale hubs. Prices may drop in a few days when fruit comes from all areas."

Whatever the price, people in Dhaka's wholesale and retail markets were keen to buy the juicy new fruit, and mango and lychee trading is in full swing. Lychees are carried from the wholesale markets to fruit shops and even on vans to different areas.

A buyer named Mintu Haque said: "When new fruit comes to the market you have to buy some for the children for a day or two. The price doesn't matter."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.