Lychee in Dinajpur still needs about a week and a half to mature, but immature lychee of the Madrazi variety has started appearing in the market. It is reported that this unripe fruit is being brought to market in the hope of higher prices and for fear that the heatwave will make lychees drop. Although they taste sour, buyers are purchasing them because they are the first lychees of the season.

A visit to Dinajpur's market on the morning of Sunday (11 May) found several fruit sellers with Madrazi lychee arranged in their shops. The fruit was half-ripe and immature. Traders were selling 100 lychees for Tk 300 to Tk 320, and many buyers were purchasing them as the new fruit of the year.

A buyer named Shamsher Ali said: "This is the first time this year I have seen lychee in the market, so I took 50 lychees for Tk 150."

Another buyer, Akash, said: "I couldn't resist the new fruit and bought 100 lychees. But they are not mature yet. They taste sour-sweet and still need time. I took them anyway, as a seasonal fruit."

Riazul Islam, an employee at a fruit shop in the market, said lychee had been in the market for two or three days, with orchard owners bringing in small amounts each morning. The intense heat has brought colour to the Madrazi lychees, so early fruit is being sold. The Bombai, China-3 and Bedana varieties will take longer to arrive. Demand for Madrazi lychee is low and sales are not brisk, he said.

Nazrul Islam, a farmer in the Masimpur area of Sadar, said: "In the heat, lychees crack and fall. That is why I am selling some now to thin the fruit in the orchard. Besides, selling early also brings a better price."

Anisuzzam, assistant deputy director (crops) of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Dinajpur, said the lychee now reaching the market is not mature. It will take about another week and a half for lychee to come to market properly, and the fruit will have its true taste then.

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