Better prospects for export of fruits and vegetables
By Ismat Sabir

Pakistan exported 268,741 ton of fruits and vegetable products worth $79.83 million, while the export of vegetables stood at $22.50 million, in 2006-07. During July-Feb 2007-08 exports of vegetables were $46.6 million that decreased to $30.8 million in 2008-09. During the same period export of fruits were $108.9 million that rose to $110.4 million. Out of the total exports of fruits and vegetables the share of mangoes was 53,443 ton valuing $16.54 million, showing an increase of 43 percent over the previous year.

After a period of rapid growth in production, the citrus producers across the world are now facing the problem of declining prices. Although all agricultural crops are affected by production and price cycles, due to the long waiting period between price signals and output changes price cycles are longer and spread over many years for citrus crops. The reason behind slowdown in growth of citrus production was that lower prices discouraged growers hence reducing the rate of new plantings and thereby reducing output.

Citrus is a general term and genus of flowering plants grown in tropical and subtropical southeast regions of the world. Citrus are mainly derived from four ancestral species. Natural and cultivated origin hybrids include the oranges, grapefruit, lemons, some limes and some tangerines.

The fruit offers many advantages to the health conscious people who demand convenience and ready to pay premium on food safety. Improvements in transportation logistics made it possible to the suppliers and processed citrus producers to provide products at reasonable price to the consumers all over the world and the year round. This means that world demand for citrus products will continue to expand and the long run prospects for citrus producers seem bright.

During the period of the Roman Empire the demand by high ranking members of the Roman society allowed the fruits to spread to Southern Europe and was then brought to the Americas by Spanish explorers. However, worldwide trade in citrus fruits did not appear until the 1800s and trade in orange juice developed as late as 1940.

In 2006-07, total citrus consumption by the major producing countries was estimated at 66.0 million ton, including 39.3 million ton of fresh fruit consumption and 26.7 million ton of processed consumption. Processed consumption was basically for the processing of oranges into orange juice. Of the total citrus for processing, nearly 85 percent was oranges. Global orange production was forecasted at 51 million tonnes, while orange trade was expected to slide due to lower demand resulting from the economic crises. 

Pakistan is fortunate in having great diversity in its soil and climatic conditions, which enables the country to grow many kinds of trees, plants, shrubs, vines and creepers that can yield a large variety of fruits and vegetables. Farmers have been developing new varieties of fruit by grafting one exotic variety with other.

Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world where some of the varieties of fruits grown in cool temperate climate like apples, pears, plums and cherries while in warmer climates apricots, grapes, pomegranates and melons and in tropical and subtropical climate we have bananas, mangoes, dates, guava and citrus cultivating, thus the fruits are usually available throughout the year.

Citrus fruits are one of the important fruit crops of Pakistan. Its orchards cover an area of 193,200 hectares with production of 1472.4 thousand tonnes in 2006-07. The fruit is grown in all four provinces of Pakistan but Punjab produces over 95 percent of the crop because of its favourable soil and weather conditions.

Citrus is divided into different groups, sweet oranges, mandarin, grape fruit, lemon and lime that are being produced on a commercial scale.

Although Pakistan is an agricultural country, production of fruits and vegetables is not fully utilized and after their domestic consumption a major part is wasted due to lack of infrastructure, limited storage and processing facilities. By streamlining and regulating the system from grower to export markets, the quantity wasted can be utilized.

Pakistan produces large varieties of mangoes, oranges and apples that are in great demand in the international market. Balochistan produces about 480,000 tonnes of apples annually but only 3,000 tonnes were exported last year, about 30 percent apples are wasted every year in Balochistan alone.

Sunny winters in Pakistan yield a large variety of citrus fruits of which the juicy kinno is a unique hybrid of two varieties of California Oranges. It has a soft skin, which is easy to peel and a lovely fragrance.

The kinno season in Pakistan starts from December and ends in April. The fruit is very delicious in taste and if treated with proper fungicide and wax and careful handling and storage at about 4 Degrees Centigrade it can retain it's freshness up till 2 months.

Citrus by-products

Orange juice: about a third of citrus fruit production goes for processing; more than 80 percent of this is for orange juice production. Demand for fresh and processed oranges continues to rise in excess of production, especially in developed countries. Orange juice is traded internationally in the form of frozen concentrate that reduces the volume, takes less space for storage and transportation hence lowering the cost.

Citrus pulp: other key products of citrus fruit are citrus pulp and citrus juice. Brazil and USA are the leading producers and exporters of citrus juice worldwide. In addition fermentation of extracted citrus juice into wine, vinegar and sprit are also considered valuable products. Furthermore, substantial quantity of extracted citrus juice is also utilized in the production of citrus squashes, syrups, jelly and marmalade. Besides, citrus juice, notable quantity of citrus pulp is used in production of jams, nectars, citrus cheese and sauces.

Extraction: in the extraction of juice from citrus fruit the residue peel and rag are generally used for essential oils, d' Limonene and citrus pulp pellet. These by-products are also used as important chemical and solvent in the production of paints and varnishes, cosmetics and animal feed industries.

Citrus pulp pellet (CPP): Once the juice has been extracted from orange, the peels and rags left behind are 5 percent of the processed fruit's utilization, which can be converted into citrus pulp pellet that is used as cattle feed. Citrus pellets are used as filters in beef or milk cattle feed. The proportion of pellet in the dry feed of an adult cow should not exceed 30 percent because citrus pulp pellets absorb humidity.

Citrus honey: citrus honey is another important by-product acquired from the citrus orchards. Although production and commercial sale of citrus honey is limited, its uses are significant. Citrus honey is generally characterized by its light colour, delicious flavour, excellent aroma, richness in Vitamin C and is regarded good for enhancing body resistance. It crystallizes in winter on prolonged storage and if applied directly to wounds, it heals them quickly. It is also good for improving liver function.

There are also bright prospects for exporting fruit juices and pulps. By establishing modern plants, Pakistan can earn three times more foreign exchange than it is presently earning through the export of fresh fruits and vegetables.