Pakistan is one of the few countries of the world where fruits grown in cool temperate climate (apples, plums, pears, cherries), warm temperate (apricots, grapes, pomegranates and melon), and subtropical climate (citrus, mango, banana, dates and guava) are available.

The country annually produces about 12.0 million tons of fruits that fetch over $500 million in exports.

Citrus fruits are leading in terms of production followed by mango, dates and guava.

Citrus fruits

With 2.29 million tons, Pakistan is the 10th largest producer of citrus fruits in the world.

Citrus is cultivated on an area of 193, 212 hectares and it is increasing at 5 percent annually. Pakistan is also the largest producer of ‘Citrus reticula’ — a variety of citrus is indigenous to this part of the world.

According to an estimate, around 95 percent of the total mandarins produced all over the world is grown in Pakistan.

Punjab is the center of production and supplies citrus fruits of high quality and grade.

The soil and climatic conditions in Pakistan have given mandarin a unique flavor which distinguishes it from other comparable varieties grown in the world.

Mangoes

Pakistan is ranked as the world’s third largest producer of mangoes. It is credited with producing some of the finest qualities of mangoes. They are popular for their unique taste and sweetness.

It is home to more than 150 verities of mangoes of which ‘Sindhri’ (also known as the king of mangoes) remains the most popular.

Other major varieties include Chaunsa, Anwa Ratol, Langra, Fajri, Bagan Pali, Dusheri, Kala Pahar, Neelam, Summer Bahist, Malda and Totapari.

These mangoes remain in high demand in international markets as some of them like Chaunsa and Sindhri are not found anywhere else.

The European Union, Australia, South Korea, Japan, the Gulf and US are the major importers of Pakistani mangoes.

Apples

Apples are grown as commercial fruit plants in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The production of deciduous apple in Balochistan has a special significance among other fruit-growing areas.

This is because the environmental conditions are relative far more suitable for the production of this fruit.

Apple is grown in highlands of Balochistan with a production of 0.224 million tons. The Tur-Kulu (Red Delicious) and Shin-Kulu (Golden Delicious) are the famous varieties for their very attractive color and taste throughout Pakistan.

Dates

Pakistan is one of the main growers of dates.

It follows Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran and UAE on the list of top date producing countries.

It has nearly 10 percent share of global production.

Balochistan is the largest dates producing province followed by Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Out of the 300 varieties of dates produced in Pakistan, Begam Jangi of Balochistan, Aseel of Sindh and Dhakki of Dera Ismail Khan are the varieties much sought world over due to their exotic taste. Pakistan earns around $29 million from export of dates each year. India remains one of the major importers of Pakistani dried dates whereas major importers of fresh dates include the US, Turkey, UAE, Qatar and Malaysia.

Fruit exports have shown an appreciable increase in recent years.

Latest post-harvest techniques such as hydro cooling, refrigeration and freezing, modified atmosphere storage, skin coating, hypobaric are being employed to preserve and protect the quality of the product.