Md Mosabbir Ali, Kulaura (Moulvibazar) :
Litchi growers in Juri Upazila of the district are frustrated as their production target has failed due to drought-like situation in the region.
According to the Department of Agriculture official, the prolonged drought-like situation affected growth of the tender lychee during the month of last April despite excellent flowering earlier this season.
As a result, the local Madrazi and Bombay variety of the juicy fruit are not fleshy enough and lower production triggered higher price of the fruit amid huge market demand this season, source said. Juri Upazila of Sub Assistant Agriculture Officer Md Abdul Jolil said excellent growth of tender litchi needs frequent rains and favourable weather conditions to become fleshier and bigger in size.
In a recent visit of different areas in the Upazila, this correspondent found that the local variety of litchi are being sold at Tk 150 to 180 per every 100 pieces in the local markets while the Madrazi and Bombay variety between Tk 240 to 260.
Litchi growers Muktadir Husain and Sharif Ahmed expressed their frustration over the lower litchi production this season. They earned huge profits last year by selling various varieties of the juicy fruit from their orchards, the duo also said.
When contacted, Md Abdul Jolil echoed the same views.
They said that litchi output in the region would not be satisfactory this season as a drought-like situation has been prevailing here in recent months. The adverse climatic conditions are main reasons behind the lower litchi production this year, experts said.
