Litchi business reaches peak in Rangpur region

Published : 09 Jun 2021, 17:05

Sahos Desk

Litchi business reached its peak now in the Rangpur agriculture region where harvesting of the most popular, fleshy and juicy seasonal fruit is nearing completion with an excellent yield rate-making farmers happy.

Hundreds of labourers are engaged in harvesting and marketing litchi braving the Covid-19 pandemic in Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari districts across the region.

“Because of favourable climatic conditions, farmers are getting the bumper output of big-sized litchi this season,” Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) at its regional office Agriculturist Bidhu Bhushan Roy told BSS.

Farmers have cultivated litchi on 1,947 hectares of land and the production might cross 20,000 tonnes worth Taka 180 crore this year as the tender fruits grew superbly following frequent rainfalls.

“More than 95 per cent of litchi trees in orchards and homesteads bloomed massively this season in the region where the fruit formation process continued smoothly amid favourable weather conditions,” Roy added.

The DAE officials and market sources said harvest of the ‘Bombay’, ‘Mozaffarpuri’ and ‘Madrazi’ and China-2 variety litchi is nearing completion with plenty of supply and better market price making both growers and traders happy this season.

The ‘Bombay’, ‘Mozaffarpuri’, and ‘Madrazi’ varieties of litchi are being sold at rates between Taka 180 and 200 for every 100 pieces while China-2 varieties at Taka 300 to 350 for every 100 pieces in the local markets.

However, the harvest of the aristocratic litchi varieties like ‘Bedana’, ‘Kanthali’ and China-3 just began and the price for every 100 pieces of these superior litchi varieties is remaining between Taka 500 and 900.

Fruit traders Babu Mian and Fazlur Rahman at Rangpur City Bazar said supply of litchi remains plenty in the local markets following bumper production even after trading huge quantities of the fruit daily from the region to other areas.

Talking to BSS, litchi grower Hasanul Haque of Bala para Dilalpur village in Badarganj Upazila of Rangpur said he has been cultivating litchi on a commercial basis on his orchard for the past 12 years and never incurred any loss.

“I’ve cultivated Madrazi and China-3 varieties of litchi in my orchard on four acres of land. I expect a super bumper production of the fruit this time,” he said.

Farmers Shahidul Haque of nearby Bala para village and Mokhlesur Rahman of Osmanpur village in Badarganj Upazila have cultivated Madrazi, Bombay and China-3 varieties of litchi in their orchards.

“As the harvesting process continues with an excellent yield rate, I’m expecting to get a bumper production of the fruit and earn desired profits,” said Shahidul Haque.

Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid said litchi farming on orchards has become popular among farmers and highly profitable for them than many other crops.

“Many farmers have changed their fortune through farming litchi as they generally earn Taka 1.50 lakh to Taka two lakh on an average per acre of land annually through litchi cultivation,” he said.

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