Litchi business : Huge jobs created in Rangpur Divn

Rangpur Correspondent The litchi business has been getting momentum creating huge jobs for thousands of male and female labourers now in the harvesting, processing and marketing of the delicious fruit in Rangpur division.According to the Department of AgricultureExtension (DAE) sources and farmers, harvest of ‘Madrazi’ and aristocrat ‘Bedana’litchi continues in full swing with plenty of supply and lucrative price making both the growers and traders happier this season.However, harvest of the high yielding and aristocrat litchi varieties like China-3, China-4, China-2, ‘Mozaffarpuri’ and late variety ‘Kanthali’ litchi will begin from first week of the next month.According to market sources, huge quantityof litchi is being traded daily from the area to the capital city and other parts of the country and its supply remains plenty in thelocal markets following bumper production.Every 100 pieces of local variety Madrazi litchi are selling at rates between Taka 180and 250 while aristocrat ‘Bedana’ variety litchi selling at rates between Taka 600 and700 depending on size and quality in the local markets.“The market price for every 100 pieces of Bombay, China-3, China-4, China-2 and ‘Mozaffarpuri’ litchi might be between Taka600 and 900 when harvest of these varieties begins after few days,” said Rostam Ali, a litchi grower of Ghoraghat in Dinajpur.The bigger litchi traders from Munshiganj, Tangail, Dhaka and other places have already purchased the orchards with China-3, China-4 and ‘Bedana’ variety litchi and started marketing those to the capital and other areas.With the growing litchi business, huge jobs have been created in harvesting, packagingand marketing of litchi now in Dinajpur, Rangpur, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Gaibandha and Nilphamari districts in the division.Horticulture Specialist of the DAE KhondkerMd Mesbahul Islam said 95 per cent of litchi trees in 9,300 small, medium and big-sized orchards and homesteads on 7,500 hectares of land bloomed massively this time in the division.“The farmers have mostly cultivated ‘Madrazi’, ‘Bombay’ and high yielding varieties China-2, China-3, China-4, ‘Bedana’, ‘Mozaffarpuri’ and late variety ‘Kanthali’ litchi after getting repeated bumper production with excellent price every year,” he added.Litchi orchard owners Abdur Rahim and Mubarak Hossain of Birganj upazila and Nur Mohammad and Hore Krishna of Sadarupazila in Dinajpur, Ariful Haque and Atiar Rahman of Sadar upazila in Rangpur expected bumper litchi output this season.Talking to this correspondent Regional Additional Director of the DAE Shah Alam predicted bumper production of comparatively big-sized litchi following frequent rainfalls during the fruit formationperiod this season in the region.