Due to lack of adequate facilities and proper training of picking and packing, about one fourth of the total kinnow (Mandarin) crop production becomes victim of post harvest losses, official sources told APP. However, the sources maintained that it was due to government's initiative that pre and post-harvest losses have been reduced to 25 percent, which they said were estimated at about 35 percent earlier.
When contacted, Co-ordinator Fruit Corps at National Agriculture Research Council, Hafeez-ur-Rehman said that scientists have already launched awareness campaign to educate farmers on how to properly deal with this soft-scented and juicy fruit. "The agriculture scientists have been launching awareness campaign to train farmers on handling the fruit from picking to packing to ensure its long shelf-life and save it from rotting," he remarked.
He said that major post harvest losses are inflicted due to lack of awareness about how to deal with the fruit during picking and packing adding that another factor was the lack of proper storage system, which makes the fruit vulnerable to early rotting. "There is lack of proper warehouses to store the kinnow and the existing storage facilities are not sufficient as all fruits and vegetables are being kept in a similar temperature under one roof, which reduces the shelf-life of these fruits," he added.
He said that initiatives have been taken to encourage farmers to utilise the proper techniques of picking and packing and stressed the need for developing proper storage for Kinnow preservation. It may be recalled that besides domestic consumption, Kinnow, has become one of the major export items among fruit groups. The fruit grows primarily in plains of Punjab province including Sargodha, Sahiwal, Faisalabd, Toba Tek Singh.
About 2.1 million tonnes of kinnow production has been estimated for this year as against the production of 2 million tonnes recorded during the past season, however, out of this only 0.231 million tonnes are targeted to be exported abroad. Share of Pakistan's citrus in the world market is as low as 1.4 percent as it earns $33 million.