Government should take measures to remove the tax on kinoo farms, ensure subsidies on fertilisers for kinoo producers.
LAHORE: Pakistan has been gifted with fertile land where a vast variety of crops and fruits are produced. Sargodha has been awarded the special gift of kinoo, a species of oranges. The annual production of kinoo in the area is about 2.5 million tons which fulfils 80 per cent of the country’s needs, fed by 23 private kinoo factories. Kinoo is exported to regional countries including UAE, Iran, Afghanistan and Russia, thus contributing to the national GDP.
Regrettably, however, owing to government neglect, there is no public kinoo factory in the area. Furthermore, our government has done nothing to ensure effective planning policies to maintain a balance of prices in different districts. As a result, private factories operating as monopolies manage to purchase the fruit at low prices. On the other hand, the government has imposed a tax on kinoo farms alone, instead of providing subsidies on fertilisers to promote further production. Also, tube wells used for irrigation purposes contain poor quality water, further damaging fruit production and the land, forcing farmers to switch over to the plantation of other crops.
Being a citizen of Sargodha, it is my duty to draw the attention of the concerned authorities towards the miseries of kinoo producers. The government should take measures to remove the tax on kinoo farms and ensure subsidies on fertilisers for kinoo producers. Modern research centres should be constructed to improve the quality of fruit in order to meet international standards. Contracts should be made with these countries for the export of kinoo. Such measures are likely to prove helpful in minimising kinoo growers’ miseries.
Hafiz Abu Bakar
Published in The Express Tribune, September 10th, 2011.
