Trade has picked up at the Shimultala litchi market in Ishwardi, Pabna, where litchi worth Tk 1 crore to Tk 1.5 crore changes hands every day. The market is busy with litchi growers, retailers, wholesalers and commission agents. Every day from dawn until 10am, litchi is all you see for about a kilometre along both sides of Shimultala road.

According to the upazila agriculture office, Ishwardi has litchi orchards on 3,100 hectares. The production target is 31,000 tonnes, worth about Tk 500 crore at market prices. Sales of ripe litchi in the upazila will end within the next 10 to 15 days.

Growers say that because of adverse weather this season, 60 per cent of trees did not flower. Intense sun made the young fruit drop, and quite a few litchis split and spoiled just before ripening. Growers' troubles have been endless, but good market prices this year have brought some relief. Sales of the local Mozaffar variety began in mid-May, and Bombai and China-3 litchis have been coming to market for the past 10 days. Most sales in the area happen from the orchards: traders buy orchards, pick the litchi and send it by vehicle to their own districts. Not even a quarter of the litchi is sold at markets; nearly all goes by vehicle from the orchards to districts around the country, and only a small number of traders and growers sell at markets.

Mostafizur Rahman Biddut, who came to sell litchi at Shimultala, told Jago News that litchi is selling at Tk 2,000 to Tk 3,500 per thousand. Production in the area is a little lower this year because of the weather, and Bombai litchis are smaller than in other years. Traders from Dhaka, Sylhet, Cumilla and the south-west have come to buy. Although production is lower, local growers are getting good prices this time, he said.

Litchi grower Zahurul Islam said production in the area was lower because of adverse weather, yet he found a large supply at the market that day, and growers were getting good prices.

Commission agent Zia Khan said Bombai litchis are smaller and paler this year. Wholesale buyers from Dhaka and districts in the south were at first somewhat disappointed, but they are buying because the taste and aroma are intact. Retail buyers are crowding in alongside wholesalers, and the market has come alive.

Buyer Bipul Hossain said he comes to Shimultala every year to buy litchi to eat at home and send to relatives. This time he found the Bombai litchi smaller and somewhat paler than last year. There was plenty on sale, he said, but he could not find the litchi he wanted, and prices are much higher than last year.

Sohel Biswas, leaseholder of the Shimultala market, told Jago News that litchi worth Tk 1 crore to Tk 1.5 crore is sold there every day, with traders coming from Dhaka and district towns across the country. Although production in the area is somewhat lower this year because of the weather, growers are getting good prices.

Upazila agriculture officer Mita Sarkar said that although the litchi yield in Ishwardi is somewhat lower this year, growers are getting good prices, and she hopes farmers will overcome their losses and make a profit.

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