Contemporary Issues Faced by Farmers in Export of Citrus Fruit (A Study of Al. Wahab Citrus Farms)

Abstract

Pakistan is an agriculture country. Agriculture is one of the major sectors of economy which has a substantial role in the execution of overall economic activity. According to the latest estimate of economic survey of Pakistan 44.7 percent of our total employed manpower is engaged in agriculture. It means that it is a source of economic survival for almost half of our total employed workforce. Our agricultural output is mainly categorized into major and minor crops. Our major crops include wheat, maize, rice & sugarcane. Our minor crops include fruits, vegetables, dates etc. Our major crops account for 33.4 percent of total agricultural output while the share of minor crops is 12 %( According to statistics of ministry for food & agricultural/2008 survey).

In minor crop the major product is our fresh fruits and vegetables. The major components of fruits which are produced in Pakistan are citrus fruits, mangoes, apples, grapes and bananas. In Pakistan there are four types of citrus fruits that are produced. These include Mandarin (Kinow, Fruitor), Oranges (Mosami, Shakri Malta), Grape fruit & Lemons. Out of total Citrus fruit production in Pakistan 95 percent of the total production is consisting of Mandarin that is traditionally called Kinnow.

Pakistan is the sixth largest producer of citrus fruits in the world with annual production capacity of 2.3 million tons (According to statistics of ministry for food & agricultural/2008 survey).Pakistan is a country which contributes 8% of the world's citrus fruits production (According to statistics of FAO) but the sorry side of the picture is that only 0.5 % of the total harvest is exported from the country. These fruits are grown nearly in all the four provinces in varying proportions. But the production is more concentrated in Punjab which grows 95% of the total national output. And it is the Sargodha region which alone accounts for 70 per cent of the provincial production. The climatic conditions of Pakistan are considered as one of the most favorable for the production of this type of agro-product.