A vendor with seasonal fruits. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, May 22: Summer has heralded in the season of “alligator strawberries”.

Not sure what that means? That is probably because in India people refer to it as litchis.

Though a rage in all parts of the country during the summers, residents of this city seem to prefer the Muzaffarpur variety most.

Neeraj Kumar, a fruit vendor at Bistupur, revealed that the Muzaffarpur litchis sell the most.

“The demand of litchis is such that customers don’t even mind buying them at high rates. The sale of litchis has picked up over the past couple of days. Some of the vendors are even selling the fruit at Rs 100 per kg every day,” he said.

On being asked whether the price demanded by the fruit vendors is justified Jamshedpur resident Pushpa Sharma said: “Litchi is a seasonal fruit, only available during the summer season so it is by no means a loss to pay a huge price for it.”

Besides this succulent summer fruit that offers Vitamin C, mangoes and apples are also popular choices.

Imported fruits are making their presence felt in the market. Apples in varied shapes and sizes are being imported from China and Australia. Though the rates of these imported fruits are high, customers still flock the stalls.

“The most sought after apples are the green ones imported from Washington. The rates of green apples range between Rs 150 and Rs 200 for a kg. There are many customers who regularly buy green apples, which are only available during the summers,” said Sunil Kumar Sonkar, a fruit vendor at Bistupur.

The lure of getting fruits of their choice has also brought children to the market this year. Rahul Kumar, a seven-year-old, said: “I am very fond of litchis and I eagerly await for them the whole year.”