Kinnow growers in Sargodha, Pakistan, have urged the authorities to formulate an effective mechanism for deciding fair rates for their produce; saying there is a need to break the monopoly of citrus exporters and factory owners in the division.
The growers said that Sargodha district, being the largest market of kinnow production, has a lot of processing plants for which the government introduced incentives and opportunities.
However, they said the growers still await incentives and attention in this regard.
Growers alleged that the factory owners decide kinnow rates without considering the efforts of growers in producing quality citrus. A grower, Shahbaz, said that kinnow rates should be decided by the growers to provide relief to small farmers.
He said that demand for kinnow was increasing day by day, but the rates were like previous years.
Citrus experts there said that product rates should be decided after consultation with farmers, exporters and processors, adding that there is a dire need to sign some new contracts with the foreign markets for receiving best prices.
Source: brecorder.com
