ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is currently not so competitive in terms of cherry production and processing as compared to some other cherry-producing countries in the world, but the situation can get better if farmers are provided proper guidance, knowledge, and technology to meet the demands of international market.
As a high-value horticulture product, cherry can contribute to increased income and employment opportunities, particularly in Balochistan province and Gilgit-Baltistan region.
Talking to WealthPK, an expert in horticulture at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) said cherries in Pakistan grow in colder regions like Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral, Upper Swat, and Balochistan.
“The greatest advantage of cherry is that it needs a very short period to grow, but due to its high perishability, its production in Pakistan is not optimal,” he said.
“Pakistan needs to increase its cherry production to compete in international market. Some small farmers have small plantations around their houses, but they are not cultivated on large scale,” he said.
The expert said the production of cherries in Pakistan is currently not sufficient to export.
“The possibility for export can come if we increase production. Once we meet the demand of our local market, we can export cherries as well,” he said.
Many reasons are affecting cherry production, the main being the unavailability of post-harvest technologies. Pakistan lacks a proper cold chain supply to keep cherries fresh. Without cold chain supply, cherries remain fresh only for eight to 10 days. Lack of market information systems, packaging, and processing facilities also contributes to the hurdles of cherry production.
The expert pointed out that climate change is also affecting cherry production as many cold regions have shrunk.
“To increase production, we need to develop new varieties, as we have already conducted research on a number of available varieties, and many have been approved already,” he stated.
Currently, around 19 new varieties of cherries are grown in the GB and Balochistan. Pakistan produces different types of cherries like bing cherry called black cherry, stella cherry, sun bugs, etc.
“The production area for cherry cultivation is also limited. To get more yield, we need to increase production area,” he said.
Approximately, 992 hectares of land has been planted with cherries in Pakistan. The country’s total cherry yield in 2018-2019 was more than 2,096 metric tons.
“One of the challenges cherry producers face is insect pests attack. Among the multitude of insect pests, fruit flies are the most damaging. These pests attack most commonly the soft fruits including cherry. More than 80% of damage has been caused by this pest globally. In Pakistan, nine species of this fruit fly have been identified,” he said.
“Large-scale remedies are required to cope with this issue. Through chemical, cultural, or biological control, we can deal with fruit flies,” he said.
“Post-harvest losses are one of the major concerns. With the use of improved post-harvest technologies i.e. processing infrastructure, capacity building of the stakeholders along with the value chain, we can reduce these losses,” he said.
Pakistani cherries have a huge potential, which can be tapped if facilitation is provided by the government to adopt the required quality standards.
