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Litchis to come to market during Ramadan


Published : 27 Apr 2019 06:43 PM | Updated : 07 Sep 2020 04:58 AM

 If everything is okay, people of the country will get the lucrative mouth-watering litchis of Dinajpur from the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.

According to farmers, within few days, litchis produced in Dinajpur, widely considered as the tastiest in the country, is coming to flood the market in plenty.

Dinajpur’s litchis have a great demand all across the country. Already wholesale buyers from across the country have started thronging the district. Artisans in the district are passing hectic days making cane-made cages for carrying the fruit. Workers of different courier service companies along with truck owners and drivers are also getting ready for carrying the litchis to all the districts of the country.

Meanwhile, owners of different litchi farms in the district are taking final care of their trees and fruits. They are hoping to take their produce to the market in the first week of upcoming Ramadan when consumer demand for the tasty fruit is immense. 

District Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) deputy director Md Tauhidul Islam told the Bangladesh Post: “This year, litchis have been cultivated on a total of 5,500 hectares of land in all the 13 upazilas of Dinajpur.”

Although DAE sources claimed to get bumper litchi production from the district, a number of farmers said that due to blossoming of less amount of buds, the output might be less comparing to last year.

DAE officials said litchi farming in the region is increasing every year as it is comparatively more profitable. The farmers can easily get back the investment selling the production in advance. 

Owners of litchi farms across the district also echoed the same. Md Idris Ali, owner of a litchi farm at Biral upazila in the district, told the Bangladesh Post: “If one buys one bigha of land spending five to six lakh taka and plant litchi saplings on it, he is sure to get back the investment. There is almost no risk here.”

“If a big sapling is planted, the tree would bear fruit within three to four years. Two more years might be needed to get fruits worth selling. Buyers start coming to a farm when the trees get matured,” he added.

Only two decades ago, litchi farms in the district were area based. Mashimpur and its adjacent areas in the southern part of Dinajpur Sadar upazila were famous for bedana litchis. It was widely considered that bedana variety cannot be cultivated on soils of other areas. But with the increasing demand for litchis of Dinajpur, the cultivation area has also expanded far away during the last two decades.

Local litchi traders said they are making final preparations to bring the fruits in the market. It seems that litchis will remain in the market even after the Ramadan. At that time, the demand would increase more.