The juicy litchis of Ishwardi in Pabna are famous across the country. Every year local (Mozaffar) litchis reach Ishwardi's markets in the last week of Boishakh. This year too, sales of local litchis have begun in the upazila's municipal town and village markets. But the fruit is immature, tasteless and sour, and consumers are missing out on the real taste of litchi.

Orchard owners and traders are selling the immature litchis in the hope of higher profits, and buyers are paying high prices for them. Immature litchis are a health risk. They are selling at Tk 250-300 per hundred and are smaller and more sour than in other years.

At the Railgate, Post Office Mor and Station Road in Ishwardi town and at the Joynagar Shimultala litchi market, seasonal fruit traders were seen selling local litchis that were small and immature.

Awlad Hossain, a litchi seller at Joynagar Shimultala market, said litchi sales had begun about a week ago at Shimultala and other markets in the upazila. Local (Mozaffar) litchis are selling now, but trade will not pick up until Bombai and China-3 litchis arrive, which will take another 15-20 days, he said.

Asadul Islam, a litchi grower from Maniknagar village, said only 10-20 per cent of trees in Ishwardi had borne fruit this year, a yield failure never seen before. Bombai litchis will reach the market in mid-Joishtho. The litchis now on sale are known as local (seeded) litchis, which are not of very high quality and not very juicy, he said.

Habibur Rahman, a litchi seller at Ishwardi market, said he had been selling litchis for five days at Tk 250 to 300 per hundred, and many people were buying them as the new fruit of the season.

National award-winning litchi grower Abdul Jalil Kitab told Jagonews24: "In my 45 years of growing litchis I have never seen such a yield failure. Local litchis have started reaching the market, and Bombai litchis will come in two weeks. In other years the local litchi trade is brisk by now. This year the yield is very low, so there is not much buying and selling."

According to the upazila agriculture office, litchis have been grown on 3,100 hectares in Ishwardi this year. The varieties include Mozaffar (local), Bombai and China. Yields are much lower than in other years.

Ishwardi upazila agriculture officer Mita Sarkar said climate change, adverse weather and pollination problems had cut this year's yield. Local (Mozaffar) litchis have started to reach the market, and Bombai litchis will take about two more weeks, she said.

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