Dinajpur litchi (Bedana and Bombai)

The story

In late May the roads around Dinajpur town turn red with litchi. Orchards in every upazila of the district bring their fruit in bunches to the Kalitala wholesale market, where it is still counted and sold by the hundred, and from there it goes to the rest of the country. Areas such as Masimpur in Sadar upazila and Madhabbati and Rabipur in Biral are especially known for flavour. Several varieties follow one another through a season of only four or five weeks: Madrazi comes first, then Bombai, Bedana and the later China-3.

Bombai is the backbone of Dinajpur's trade. It covers by far the largest area, bears heavily, gives large, bright red fruit and cracks less than many other types. Bedana is the connoisseur's litchi. Its name comes from the Bangla word for pomegranate, and its trees occupy only a small share of the district's orchards and yield fewer fruit. In return the fruit has a small, often shrivelled seed, a thick layer of flesh and a high sweetness, so it sells for much more than Bombai or Madrazi.

The Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks presented Dinajpur's Bedana litchi with a GI certificate on 30 April 2025, at a World Intellectual Property Day event where Magura's Hazaripuri litchi was also recognised. The GI covers Bedana only, not every litchi grown in the district. Local agriculture officials say Bedana has since been sent to buyers abroad in small quantities.

How to spot the real Dinajpur litchi (Bedana and Bombai)

Bedana fruit is round, almost globe-shaped, with a fairly smooth, deep pink to red skin. Peel one and you should find a thick, translucent, juicy aril around a seed that is noticeably small, sometimes no bigger than a fingertip and often shrivelled. The taste is sweet with little sourness. Bombai is larger and slightly elongated or heart-shaped, with bright red skin and a normal-sized brown seed; its flesh is sweet but thinner relative to the seed. Madrazi is earlier and often a little more acidic, and China-3 is a large, late fruit. A seller charging Bedana prices should be able to show a cut fruit with the small seed. Fresh litchi has green, supple stalks and leaves; the skin starts to brown within a day or two of picking, which is normal and does not mean the fruit has spoiled, but very dry, dark fruit is old.

Buying tips

Litchi does not ripen further after picking, so it must be picked ripe and eaten soon. Order in the main weeks, roughly the last days of May through June, and ask which variety you will get, because Bedana, Bombai and Madrazi are priced very differently. Litchi is usually sold by the hundred or by the bunch; the price depends on variety, fruit size, the stage of the season and how far it has to go.

Since litchi lasts only a few days, distance and speed are everything. On Midmart each shop arranges its own delivery and sets its own charge; Midmart takes no payment and handles no parcels, so agree both directly with the seller. Ask the picking date, whether the bunches are packed with leaves in a ventilated basket or crate, and how many days the courier will take. A seller in or near Dinajpur who ships the day of picking is the best choice for distant cities.

Keeping it fresh

Remove litchi from closed boxes as soon as it arrives. For eating within a day, keep it in a cool, shaded place. For longer, put the unpeeled fruit in a perforated bag or a container lined with paper in the fridge, where it keeps several more days. Do not wash it until you are about to eat it. Peeled flesh can be frozen for drinks and desserts.

Find Dinajpur litchi (Bedana and Bombai) on Midmart

Search Midmart for “litchi”

Shops from where it is made

No shop from Dinajpur is on Midmart yet.

Questions about Dinajpur litchi (Bedana and Bombai)

More famous products

• A Ashwina mango of Chapainawabganj
• B Barishal amra (hog plum)
• Fazli mango
• Gazipur jackfruit
• Haribhanga mango of Rangpur
• Himsagar mango (Meherpur, Satkhira)