Bihar litchi exports zoom

The lip-smacking, juicy litchi fruit, which makes summer a shade more tolerable, is also responsible for helping script a rare success story from what’s dismissed as the state of despair, Bihar.
Bihar’s litchi exports are up, up and away: this year, it shipped out 210 tonnes of the fruit—fresh as well as processed—against just 30 tonnes last year. Bihar also exported superior quality litchis worth $10 million to the European Union and West Asia this year, according to the Bihar State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited (Comfed), the nodal agency for litchi exports in the state. ‘‘Indian litchis are superior to the ones grown outside,’’ said Arunish Chawla, managing director of Comfed. ‘‘We are looking at the possibility of $10 billion worth of exports in the long run.’’
Chawla attributes this winning streak to a network which ensured the luscious fruit’s smooth passage from orchards in northern Bihar to the EU, West Asia and Nepal. ‘‘We have managed to fill the gaps in the network. There’s the Apeda (Agro-Processing Export Development Agency) at the national level, Comfed at state and farmers and entrepreneurs on the ground. Exports have gone up because of a good network from the local level to the international market.’’
After Comfed made a presentation in New Delhi, it was chosen as the country’s nodal agency because of its network and marketing expertise. A French agronomist, Christian Didier, was flown down for his expert opinion. Didier suggested ways of competing in the national market by improving the fruit’s yield. He also gave the litchis international certification, after which the fresh fruit and pulp were exported through Comfed’s network.
Comfed is already looking ahead: farmers have been supplied a monthly schedule of dos and don’ts. And two nurseries have been opened: the National Litchi Research Centre at Muzzafarpur and Pusa Agricultural University at Samastipur, where research on harvesting techniques and on planting new varieties will be conducted.