Encephalitis costs litchi Rs 100 cr trade

| | New Delhi
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Encephalitis costs litchi Rs 100 cr trade

Thursday, 20 June 2019 | Rajesh Kumar | New Delhi

Encephalitis costs litchi Rs 100 cr trade

With experts holding litchi responsible for aggravating encephalitis deaths in Muzaffarpur, the summer fruit, mainly produced in this Bihar’s district, is facing the heat as its industry is estimated to have suffered losses of around Rs 80-100 crore.

Price of shahi litchi has gone down by 50 per cent, currently selling aroundsRs 70 a kilogram in the retail market. Several consignments of litchi juice are lying at the ports of US, Australia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), New Zealand and United Kingdom. In fact, people are scared of consuming even packed litchi juice available in the market.

Industry experts believe that thankfully the epidemic has struck at the fag end of the litchi season leading to lesser losses for them.

And as death toll has increased due to the Acute Encephalitis syndrome (AES) epidemic, the Bihar Government has advised parents against giving the fruit to their children on empty stomach even as Odisha has ordered litchi’s lab tests. The Rajasthan Government on its part has directed officials to remain alert in the State.

Experts believed that litchi contains a toxin which can cause a drop in blood sugar levels if consumed by a malnourished child, leading to death.

According to the Agriculture Ministry, 250,000-3,00,000 metric tonne of litchi were produced on 32,000 hectare in Bihar in 2018. The Ministry has projected 7,10,000 MT production of litchi in its first advance estimate, released last month.

India is the second largest producer of litchi in the world after China. Bacha Prasad Singh, president of Litchi Growers Association of Bihar, told The Pioneer that litchi growers have witnessed nearly 50-60 per cent decline in sale of litchi in the past one week after it was reported that AES has some connection with this sweet and juicy summer fruit.

 “Exporters are not lifting the fruit consignments in Dubai, Europe and England due to outbreak of AES in Muzaffarpur. Even in local market, traders are scared of litchi. Some of the mandis have asked to hold up litchi consignments till further order.  Litchi business has been badly hit this year,” rued Singh, adding that as many as 8-10 lakh people, involved in the litchi trade and transportation are affected.

“It is ridiculous to blame litchi,” Singh added.

Shyam Lal, a trader, said sale of litchi juice packets has also declined in the past few days in the national Capital. “On an average, I used to sell 40-50 bottles of litchi juice per day but for the past one week, I sold only half a dozen bottles,” he said.

Generally, litchis hit the market prior to the arrival of mangoes. Hence, the markets are full of litchis as mango will take another 10 days or so to hit the market. If the sale continues to be low for the next couple of days, traders will suffer huge losses this season.  Bihar’s famous shahi litchi has got Geographical Indication tag last year. A GI is an indication used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation due to that origin.

The worst-hit district is Muzaffarpur with the viral disease claiming lives of 120 children, followed by Vaishali where 12 children have lost the battle with AES. Another six children have lost their lives in Begusarai district, five in Samastipur, and two each in Motihari and Patna.

The symptoms of AES include high fever, vomiting, losing consciousness and seizures. The deaths have been reported from Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital and Kejriwal Hospital.

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