Summer means a wealth of tasty fruits. Mango, jam, litchi and jackfruit fill the air with their sweet scent. These fruits are unmatched in taste and full of nutrients, and alongside their nutritional value, the season's varied fruits bring relief to city dwellers exhausted by the intense heat. The capital's markets are now full of summer fruit, but prices are quite high.

A visit to various markets in the capital on 13 May found that seasonal fruits had been arriving for about a week. Himsagar and Gobindabhog mangoes began arriving after last Wednesday, and litchis are coming from Dinajpur and from Sonargaon near Dhaka. Jackfruit, jam, watermelon, jamrul, gab and palm fruit flesh were also on sale.

Buyers and sellers said, however, that these new fruits were expensive at the start of the season. They hope prices will fall somewhat once the season is in full swing.

Enamul Haque, a fruit seller at Rampura Bazar, said: "Fruit prices will come down after a week or two of Joishtho. It is only the end of Boishakh now. All the fruit is new, so prices are high."

Himsagar is the most widely available mango at the moment. This variety from the Satkhira region ripens early, and its harvest was inaugurated last Wednesday (10 May). Gobindabhog mangoes from the same area have also arrived, along with Guti mangoes from the Rajshahi region.

Himsagar now sells for Tk 100 to 120 a kg and Gobindabhog for Tk 120 to 140. Rajshahi's Guti mangoes were selling at Tk 60 to 100. Mangoes are somewhat cheaper at mobile fruit stalls in the neighbourhoods, selling for Tk 10-20 a kg less than in the markets.

Early Belowari litchis from Dinajpur are now in the market, and for a few days some good-quality Kadami litchis have also been coming from Sonargaon in Narayanganj, near Dhaka. At Karwan Bazar, 100 Dinajpur litchis sell for Tk 350 to 380, while Sonargaon litchis cost Tk 600 to 650.

Litchi seller Tarek Hossain of Cumilla Fal Bhandar said: "The litchis have only just arrived. Supply is very low, so prices are high. Other varieties of Dinajpur litchi will start arriving in a week or two, and then prices will come down."

Jackfruit, the national fruit, has not yet arrived in large quantities, and what has come is expensive. A small jackfruit sells for Tk 200 at Karwan Bazar and a medium one for Tk 300 to 400.

Jam, another summer fruit, is available at various fruit shops at Tk 120 to 160 a kg. Juicy jamrul sells for Tk 140 to 150 a kg, and gab has also arrived at a similar price. Pineapples sell for Tk 50 to 80 each.

Palm fruit is another summer fruit. Large palm fruits with flesh sell for Tk 40 to 45 each, which works out at about Tk 15 per piece of flesh, while small ones sell for Tk 25-30.

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