Juicy fruit litchi has flooded the markets in the Rajshahi city but the
price is still beyond the reach of the commoners.
Many seasonal traders have set up makeshift shops at different points in the city especially at Shaheb Bazar, Shalbagan, Luxmipur, Sheroil Bus Terminal, Bindurmore and Court area displaying the eye-catching fruit.
One hundred litchis now sell at Tk 220 to Tk 250 while the traders said litchi sold at Tk 120 to Tk 150 each hundred last year.
Inclement weather, associated with high temperature, has caused a huge damage of litchi this year, pushing up the price.
Abdul Alim, senior scientific officer of Rajshahi Fruit Research Station, told New Age that litchi of Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions was good but that of Ishwardi was very delicious and famous across the country.
The kernel of this litchi is less and the seed is comparatively large but Bombai litchi is sweeter, succulent, having a small seed, he added.
Meraj Uddin, a litchi grower of Choto Bongram under Shah Makhdum thana, said because of extreme heat and drought, litchi had ripened earlier last year but this year it ripened at the right time.
-With New Age input
