Thrissur’s jackfruits set to tickle the taste buds of football fans in Qatar

1,000 kg of the fruit from Ayur Jack farm exported to the Gulf nation hosting FIFA World Cup

Football fans from across the world who have flocked to Qatar for the FIFA World Cup will get to taste ‘Varikka’ jackfruits from Thrissur.

A first batch of around 1,000 kg of jackfruits of the Varikka variety from Ayur Jack farm at Kurumal Kunnu owned by Varghese Tharakan has been exported by Qatar Airways on Monday. Varikka is considered one of the sweetest varieties of jackfruits. According to Kozhikode-based fruit exporters, jackfruits are on high demand in Qatar.

Though it is not the jackfruit season in the State now, Ayurjack, a unique variety developed here, bears fruit throughout the year, says Mr. Tharakan. There is more demand for the variety now, he adds.

The tree of the Ayurjack variety in Mr. Tharakan’s farm is just about 7 ft to 8 ft in height. It can be grown in small house plots and even on terraces in big containers.

“With proper care, it bears fruit throughout the year. It usually starts bearing fruits in about one-and-a-half years,” he says.

Mr. Tharakan says he developed the variety with the objective of achieving food security, while claiming that jackfruits are gluten-free and can be used for the treatment of several diseases, including diabetes.

A die-hard football fan, Mr. Tharakan planted 32 jackfruit saplings during the previous edition of the FIFA World Cup in Russia naming them after the 32 teams that played in the tournament.