Climate change takes toll on orange production in Pakistan

KARACHI: The cold wave has gripped Pakistan but the winter season’s famous fruit “Orange” is still unavailable in the markets, ARY News reported on Thursday.

Experts say climate change has taken a toll on the citrus fruit production in the country, causing huge losses in terms of exports.

The shortage of oranges has also affected domestic sales, leaving consumers with limited options.

This year, Kinnow production is likely to drop by 35 percent due to the smog and fog.

The delay in the arrival of the cold weather also contributed to the reduction in the quality and taste of oranges, making them less desirable to consumers.

Agricultural experts said that this year’s citrus production failed to withstand climate change, blaming the 60-year-old variety of citrus, that is unable to fight current diseases and weather conditions.

Head of the Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association Waheed Ahmed said the climate conditions led to extensive production damage in Pakistan.

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Waheed Ahmed stressed that the failure to introduce new, climate-resilient varieties of oranges in Pakistan has exacerbated the crisis as currently 50 percent of the citrus processing factories have been shut down.

Experts warned that if new varieties are not introduced in Pakistan on an urgent basis, the production will be badly affected, leading to a complete end of the exports.

It is pertinent to mention that just a few years ago Pakistan was one of the leading exporting countries of oranges as in 2020-21 it exported a record 460,000 tonnes of oranges marking this as the highest ever volume during any season.