Between a pandemic-induced disaster in the nation, the first consignment of famous GI-certified ‘Shahi Litchi’ was shipped from Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district to the United Kingdom on Monday through a special aircraft. Shahi Litchi is planted in over 15,000 hectares of property in Muzaffarpur. The consignment is being shipped by Cira Enterprises to H&J Veg in London after buying from the producers in Muzaffarpur.
According to the official report from the department of agriculture, Shahi Litchi was provided the GI tag in 2018 with three other agriculture goods which included ‘Jardalu’ mango, Katarni variety of rice, and the Magahai-paan (betel leaves). Shahi-Litchi is grown in Vaishali, Samatipur, Champaran, Begusarai, and Saran districts as well. Meantime, the world-famous Litchis have presently caught the ‘Phytosanitary Certificate’ from the state for the initial time, and now it will be globally known as Bihar’s Litchi. The phytosanitary certificate is declared by only a public officer who is technically passed and sanctioned by the National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO). Earlier, the Bihar government had taken the phytosanitary certificate either from Kolkata or Mumbai.
The deal of Shahi Litchis grades in an approximated Rs 1000 crores yearly from all over Bihar with almost 50% of the income coming from Muzaffarpur alone. The East Central Railway, headquartered at Hajipur, has also given a special transportation means by uniquely created rail parcel trucks from Muzaffarpur to other states including Maharashtra, Delhi, and Pune, which marks a large need for Bihar’s Shahi-Litchi.
Ravindra Singh of Muzaffarpur, who has a Litchi farm of over 10 hectares of land, said that the call for Shahi Litchi has not been affected even with the pandemic going on, although the lack of transport amenities for farmers is a difficulty. “This time, the fruit of Shahi-variety of Litchi is well-shaped, and red, which indicates that the fruits are sweeter and juicier,” he said.
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