Pak-China cooperation in citrus industry untapped

ISLAMABAD: Pak-China cooperation in citrus industry is untapped, says Pakistani scientists of Citrus Research Institute Sargodha (CRIS), according to a report published by Gwadar Pro on Thursday.

They contended that scientists from both the countries can exchange necessary information about various varieties of citrus food.

“China is helping us a lot in research work and Pakistan’s citrus industry is trying to obey the Chinese Laws for import which are called SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary),” said Ihsan ul Haq, Principal Scientist of Citrus Research Institute Sargodha (CRIS), Pakistan while taking interview with Gwadar Pro.

Take Malta - the red blood orange of Palai valley, Malakand district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) - as an example.

Pakistan produces more than 30 types of different fruits of which citrus fruit is leading among all fruits and constitutes about 30% of the total fruit production.

Among all these citrus fruits, Malta is considered the best due to their distinctive aroma, sweet taste, reddish color and premium quality.

Malta has got fame for more than 50 years, and “many outsiders used to come and purchase it directly from the fields,” said Rehmatullah, a local packing labourer.

As winter arrives, Malta is ripe for picking. From December to next March, farm-hands can be seen plucking Malta of all sizes and shade from trees and grading, packing and transporting them.