Steps afoot to boost citrus fruit production

MULTAN: The Punjab Agriculture Department spokesman Tuesday said all-out effort is underway to boost the growth of citrus fruit in the country as it is the identity of the country.

Talking to reporters, the spokesman said all resources were being utilised for the growth of citrus fruit. He said the citrus fruit are planted over more than 400, 000 acres of land across the province and the province has hot demand from the world markets.

The spokesman maintained Pakistan stands at seventh number in citrus export and 13 number in citrus production in the world being the largest producer of the citrus. About 95 per cent of the production of citrus fruit comes from Punjab. The country earns more than $180 million annually from the export of citrus fruit.

There is a scope for increasing citrus fruit production and the government is generously providing resources for ongoing research to this end. Last year, the export of citrus from Pakistan was more than 3, 95, 000 metric tonnes which was 17.37 per cent of the total production. This year the production is expected to be more than 2,276,000 metric tonnes with a sizable increase in export.

Due to the lack of starch in sour fruits, there is little change in post-tolerance sweetness, so fruit should be picked when the amount of sweetness in them has reached the appropriate level. The grading is important. In this process the fruit are sorted on a mat or in conveyor belts in factories and all the fruits are divided into different groups or grades.

The Punjab Agriculture Department has asked all orchard owners to send the fruit to the market after grading. The agriculture official urged farmers to sort the best citrus fruit. He said the fruit should be marketed in line with the grading rules in order to fetch high returns. The orchard owners marketed their produce in baskets that affected their income and also created problems during export. The growers could increase their income by adopting better marketing techniques. Citrus fruit should be picked at a time when they have over 33 per cent juice, the official pointed out.

Fruit of different grades should not only be packed separately but they can be sold in the desired market to earn better foreign exchange. It is better to have 2-3 part ripe fruits than other fruits, the officials maintained.

Pakistani fruit exporters are expected to export more kinnows to the Chinese market next year as compared to only about 80 tonnes last year.

Exporters said China is the biggest market for Pakistani citrus fruit as 15-20 containers of fruits were exported to China in two year before the first time in history. In 2020, Pakistan exported about 450,000 tonnes of kinnow to the international market, among them, only about 80 tonnes were destined for China. But in the future, more is expected to reach the Chinese markets.