DINAJPUR, Bangladesh, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Dinajpur farmers in Bangladesh are profiting from growing juicy Chinese lychee varieties.

Mouthwatering lychees grow almost all over the South Asian country, but their main cultivation hub is Dinajpur district, some 338 km northwest of the capital city of Dhaka.

Like in previous years, farmers in Dinajpur have widely cultivated the two most popular lychee varieties, known as China-3 and China-2, in their homesteads and orchards.

The round Chinese lychees are bigger than regular lychees, with attractive red skin and sweet aromatic flesh, while their pulps are creamy white, soft, and juicy. Lychee orchards in the region are now filled with almost-ripe and half-ripe fruits.

"China-2, China-3, and local varieties are among the most cultivated lychees in the Dinajpur region," local lychee farmer Md. Mahbubur Rahman told Xinhua, saying, "We grow China-3 lychee as it is profitable, though one lychee costs a minimum of 15 takas (0.18 U.S. dollars) which is more expensive than other local varieties."

Due to their sweetness, China-3 and China-2 lychees are usually in high demand from wholesalers, who throng to Dinajpur to buy trucks laded with lychees and transport them to different parts of the country.

"I have all types of lychees, including China-3, in my stock," Md. Sohail Rana, a lychee garden buyer, said, adding that China-3 lychee is more expensive than other types of lychees due to its high demand.

Usually, a bundle of 100 lychees is worth up to 500 takas (5.88 U.S. dollars) in the local market, but the price of China-3 lychee hovers at around 1,000 takas (11.77 U.S. dollars) per bundle, said the trader. "That is why we are leaning towards planting more China-3 lychees."

"The reason China-3 lychee is so expensive is that it looks so big, tastes so good, and is so juicy," said Md. Rifat Alam, who runs a shop in a place famous for lychee trading in Dinajpur, stressing that they earn profits by selling this Chinese lychee.

In Bangladesh, the lychee harvest typically happens from mid-May to early June. Every year, there are also a number of individuals who buy lychees in Dinajpur, with Chinese varieties being very popular among them.

Abul Kalam Azad is a customer from Dhaka who visits Dinajpur every year to buy lychees and mangoes.

Azad would love to buy China-3 and China-2 lychees as he said these two lychee varieties have a little more taste and sweetness, with seeds being a little smaller and the pulp being juicier, compared to the other lychees that are available in Bangladesh.