Litchi might be costlier this year

Abdus Salam bought three litchi orchards with 150 trees in his area this year at a cost of Tk 2.5 lakh, expecting to have a harvest of around 3.5 lakh to 4 lakh fruits.

A resident of Char Silimpur village in Ishwardi upazila, Salam started harvesting litchis in his orchard a day before the Eid-ul-fitr. But he is now worried about incurring losses after the harvest so far has been half of his expectations.

"This year I got a yield of 10 to 12 thousand litchis from each of the larger trees. The same tree produced 15 to 20 thousand fruits last year. Yield of the smaller trees has been only 1,500 to 2,000 litchis, which is half of the targeted yield," he added.

Several dozen bamboo baskets full of the produce are ready for shipment, straight from the orchard. Photo: Ahmed Humayun Kabir Topu

The harvesting of local variety of litchis began a week ago and it will last until the next couple of weeks.

Many locals involved in litchi farming and trading believe that the recent heat waves affected the yield of litchis this year.

"The heat waves badly affected flowering of the fruit this year. Many trees did not flower as expected. Many fruits on the trees were damaged. Because of this, the yield has come down to half this year," said Dulal Miah, a litchi farmer from Char Silimpur village.

He said he expected a total sale of Tk 5 lakh from two hundred litchi trees this year, but so far the harvest has been disappointing.

Abdul Kader, deputy director of Department of Agricultural Extension in Pabna said more than 41 thousand tonnes of litchi is expected to be harvested in the district this year.

Hot temperatures in early January affected flowering of litchis this year and intermittent heat waves caused damage to a large amount of fruits on trees, resulting in 20 to 25 percent fall in yield.

But the loss in production will likely be recovered when the Bombay variety of litchis will be harvested in early June, he added.

Despite the poor production, litchi farmers and traders have been happy with the higher prices they are getting for the produce at markets this year.

"Every one hundred of 'Aati' litchi [local variety] is selling for Tk 1,700 to Tk 2,300 this year, whereas the same variety sold for Tk 1,200 to Tk 1,700 last year," said Abdul Mannan Shamim, a litchi trader and farmer in Digha village of Ishwardi upazila.

Hoping to make good profit this year, he said after harvesting of the local varieties is over, the harvesting of 'Bombay' litchi, the most sought-after variety, will begin from early June.