A lemon costs Tk800!

At first sight, it would look like a big papaya, but with a close inspection it would appear to be a lemon. These big size lemons weighing from 1 kg to 2 kg are a special variety of the fruit named jara lemon which is very popular in the Sylhet region.

However, the price of jara lemon would astonish anybody. Currently, a large size jara lemon is being sold at Tk700-Tk800 in the markets of Sylhet. On the other hand, the price of a small sized lemon is Tk400-Tk500.

Traders say that the price will be a little lower during the monsoon, the usual harvesting season of the fruit.

Local people say that the unusual high price of jara lemon is due to its popularity among the rich expatriate community of Sylhet.

jara lemon is a fruit of the citrus species with a scientific name citrus medica cultivated mostly in the moist and acidic soils in high mountainous areas. Its cultivation requires a lot of rainfall.

The Citrus Research Center in Jaintapur, Sylhet under Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute has been researching jara lemon for a long time.

Borhan Uddin Bhuian, scientific officer, Citrus Research Center, said, "Jara is a unique fruit from the genus citrus. It will not match with any other variety. The original three varieties of the genus are orange, batabi lemon and jara lemon. Many more varieties have been made from these varieties through crossing and hybridization."

He said, "The origin of jara lemons is in the hills of Assam and Meghalaya. There are many types of this variety including round jara, guti jara and water zara. Guti and water jara are mainly cultivated in Sylhet region."

In 2019, scientists created a new variety of jara lemon named BARI-1. They are also working on inventing a few more varieties.

"The soil of Sylhet is suitable for jara lemon cultivation as there is plenty of rain here and water drains quickly through the hilly slopes," said Borhan Uddin Bhuian.

How to eat

Jara lemon is famous for its juice. However, its peels are also tasty and used in salad. People also make pickles from this lemon.

Borhan Uddin Bhuian, said, "The peels of jara lemon have a special sweet taste. It also has a beautiful smell. It is a favorite of food lovers because of its taste and aroma."

In the citrus genus, he said, only the peels of jara can be eaten both raw and after cooking.

Selina Chowdhury, a chef from Sylhet, said, "The taste of jara lemon juice is sour but the peel is sweet. Its juice and peels can be used in preparing various foods including fish curry and pickles. The peel is also eaten as salad without cooking."

However, she said that it is not possible to cook jara peel with meat, as it makes the taste of meat bitter.

Cultivated in the hilly land of Sylhet

Jara lemon is cultivated in Jaintapur, Gowainghat, Kanaighat, Golapganj and Beanibazar upazilas of Sylhet.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, Sylhet, there are about 150 orchards of jara lemon in the district including 60 orchards in Jaintupur upazila alone. However, the agriculture office does not have precise information on the amount of jara lemon produced in the district annually.

Md Salauddin, deputy director, Department of Agricultural Extension, Sylhet, said, "Jara lemon cultivation is very profitable. Its buyers are mainly expatriate Bangladeshis. A large number of people from Sylhet live in Europe and America. They bought these lemons. As a result, they are sold at a much higher price." 

"The demand for this lemon is also increasing in other parts of the country. As a result, it is possible to make a good profit easily by cultivating it. With proper care, the seedlings bear fruit within one to one and a half years of planting. A tree gives fruits for many years," he added.

Most of the jara lemons are cultivated in Fatehpur union of Jaintapur. 

Saiful Islam, a farmer from Bagerkhal village in the union, said, "I cultivate jara lemons on 50 decimals of land. The fruits are generally harvested during the monsoon."

"Last year I sold jara lemon worth more than Tk1 lakh. I didn't even have to go to the market. Traders came and collected the fruits from the orchard," he added.

Khairul Islam, another farmer in the area, said, "A mature tree can produce more than a thousand lemons. However, if there is a lack of enough rain, the yield decreases. Lemons are also attacked by various insects."

Why the price so high?

The price of jara lemon is unusually high during this time of the season as the price of a big size lemon is Tk800.

Borhan Uddin, a lemon seller from the Haripur area of Jaintapur, said "It is not the lemon season now. It is mainly available in the rainy season. After two months the price will go down. Now you have to buy it at higher prices."

In Sylhet city, jara lemon could be found in the Bandar Bazar area. The prices vary here according to the shape. Large lemons are being sold at Tk800 each and small ones at Tk400 to Tk500 each.

Jahangir Alam, a lemon seller in the market, said, "During the monsoon season, the price of four lemons would be Tk1,000 to Tk1,500. But now that it is not the lemon season, so the price is higher."

However, Faisal Ahmed, who came to the market to buy jara lemon, gave a different reason for the price hike. He said, "The buyers of these lemons are usually expatriates. Relatives of expatriates buy these and send them abroad. That's why traders increased the prices unnecessarily."

Export stopped for 15 years

Various citrus fruits including jara lemon used to be exported from Sylhet to Europe and America which has been halted for the last 15 years. The UK's Department of Environmental Food Research Association banned the import of citrus fruits in 2007 due to a virus infection called Canker. So far, the ban has not been lifted.

Hizkil Gulzar, president of the Jalalabad Vegetable and Frozen Fish Exporters Group, said "There is a large market in Europe and America for citrus fruits, including jara lemons. But as export has been halted, we are set to lose that market."

"We have been demanding to set up a vegetable and fruit export zone in Sylhet at different times to eradicate the problem of cankers. The farmers should be given training on producing canker free citrus fruits. But our demands are not being approved," he said.

He said that a huge amount of foreign exchange could be earned annually if citrus fruits could be cleared of canker.

Borhan Uddin Bhuian, scientific officer at the Citrus Research Center, said, "The spread of the canker virus happens due to unplanned farming, planting trees without maintaining certain distances, lack of cleanliness, an not using prescribed medicine."

"We have trained farmers to keep their gardens free of canker. As a result, most of the gardens in Sylhet region have been cleared of this virus," he noted.