Indian lychee production is expected to fall by 20 per cent to 336,000 tonnes this season in response to poor weather conditions.
'This year the production may go down by 20 per cent from the normal crop size as the weather was extremely hot with almost no rainfall in the main growing regions of Bihar, Uttrakhand and Himachal,' said Lychee Growers Association of India president Niraj Chhinwal.
Bihar production may fall 50 per cent if there is no rain in the next week, reported the Press Trust of India.
The season has started with the Bambiya variety in West Bengal, and will be followed by the Sahi variety from Muzaffarpur on 20 May.
The fruit is grown on about 7,000ha of land in Bihar, West Bengal, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.