§1What this business is
Litchi is a sub-tropical fruit tree that does best in a moist climate at low elevation, up to 800 m, on deep, well-drained loam with pH 5.0 to 7.0. Winter frost and dry summer heat are its limits, and young trees need protection. It was traditionally grown along the Himalayan foothills from Tripura to Jammu & Kashmir and has spread to Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Plants are set 7 m apart, 80 to the acre. The tree takes about 5–6 years to fruit, and vegetables are grown between the rows for the first three or four years. The fruit turns brown within 2–3 days of picking, so bunches are packed with twigs in baskets or crates lined with leaves and sent to market at once.
Capacity: One acre with 80 plants at 7 m x 7 m. Yield goes up from 2.0 tonnes in year 5 to 6.0 tonnes in year 9, where it levels off.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A farmer in a litchi belt with own land and water, who can grow vegetables for the first four or five years.
Who it is not for
Farmers in dry, hot or frost-prone areas, or far from a market reachable within a day.
Advantages
- High price per tonne in the model — ₹15,000
- Trees keep bearing past 21 years of age
- Contractors often do the harvesting, packing and transport
- Also used for canning and squash
Drawbacks
- About 5–6 years before the first fruit
- Fruit browns within 2–3 days of picking
- Grows well only in a narrow moist sub-tropical belt
- Most growers sell through a contractor and do not see the market price
Skills you need
- Protecting young trees from frost and hot winds
- Irrigation and mulching at fruit growth
- Sorting out sun-burnt and cracked fruit
- Dealing with contractors or selling on your own
Why difficulty 3/5: Long wait, a narrow climate belt and a fruit that must sell in two or three days.
§3Market
Who buys
- Harvest contractors who buy the standing crop
- Wholesalers and commission agents
- Canning and squash units
How it sells
- Sale to a contractor who harvests, packs and transports
- Self-marketing to wholesalers and retailers in nearby towns
Good to know
- The model values litchi at ₹15,000 a tonne.
- More than 65% of growers sell through a contractor and about 20% market the fruit themselves, says the report.
- Mature fruit can be stored 8 to 12 weeks at 1.6 to 1.7°C and 85 to 90% relative humidity.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Tube well with submersible pump | — | ₹50,000 |
| Drip irrigation system with fertigation equipment | for 1 acre | ₹20,000 |
| Store and pump house | — | ₹10,000 |
| Labour room | — | ₹6,800 |
| Farm implements | — | ₹10,000 |
| Fencing | — | ₹29,600 |
From: National Horticulture Board model bankable project — Litchi
- Planting material — litchi plants80 plants an acre at 7 m x 7 m
- Manures and fertilisersfirst-year provision in the model
- Insecticides and pesticidesfirst-year provision in the model
From: National Horticulture Board model bankable project — Litchi
§5Licences & registration
- No licence is needed to grow fruit on your own or leased farm land
- Land ownership or registered lease papers (banks and subsidy offices ask for them)
- Permission for a new borewell where the state groundwater authority requires it
- For export: Import Export Code, APEDA registration and a phytosanitary certificate
Start it in your state
Pick your state: today’s cost, central + state subsidy, raw material, land and help, on one page.
§6Schemes & subsidies
The model assumes the farmer puts in ₹75,000, a capital subsidy of ₹30,000 and a bank term loan of ₹45,000 at 12% interest on the ₹1,50,000 cost. Today NHB's open-field scheme is for orchards above 2 hectares, leaves out land cost and needs a bank term loan; for a one-acre orchard ask the district horticulture office about state schemes.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: One-acre model; the cost of land is not included. Cultivation expenses ₹19,600 (planting material ₹2,400, manures and fertilisers ₹5,000, insecticides and pesticides ₹3,000, labour ₹5,600, power ₹3,600) + irrigation ₹50,000 (tube well with submersible pump ₹50,000) + drip irrigation system ₹20,000 + infrastructure ₹26,800 (store and pump house ₹10,000, labour room ₹6,800, farm implements ₹10,000) + land development ₹33,600 (land levelling ₹4,000, fencing ₹29,600) = ₹1,50,000.
Working capital: First-year cultivation expenses of ₹19,600 are inside the project cost. Vegetable inter-crops from year 2 to year 5 are counted on to keep the project viable.
Year not printed on the report. It costs labour at ₹70 a man-day, so these are old prices — planting material, labour, borewell and drip costs are much higher now.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: APEDA
- The report says India exports litchi mainly to the Netherlands, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Canada.
- India's share of the world litchi trade is hardly 1%, says the report.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Dry heat causing sun-burn and fruit cracking
- Frost on young trees
- Fruit losing colour before it reaches the buyer
- A season of only around two months, with gluts and distress sale
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working litchi orchard unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (No licence is needed to grow fruit on your own or leased farm land, Land ownership or registered lease papers (banks and subsidy offices ask for them)), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start Litchi Orchard?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.