QUETTA: People of Balochistan are deprived of cheap fruits despite the province’s reputation as the country’s fruit basket.

It is difficult to determine why locally-grown fruits are sold at such high prices here.

Quetta markets also abound with fruits from neighbouring countries like Iran and Afghanistan but the prices are beyond the reach of the common man.

A small quantity of apple, considered to be one of the major fruits cultivated in orchards of Balochistan, is exported abroad, mainly the Gulf countries. But, the quantity is meagre and should not affect the prices in a big way.

The bulk of fruit production, however, finds its way to other parts of the country, mainly Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Sukkur.

After the opening up of the Khuzdar-Rato Dero route route, fruits are being exported to Upper Sindh, mainly Larkana.

Northern Balochistan is famous for quality apples, peaches, grapes, apricots, cherry, sintroza, pomegranate, almonds and some citrus fruits in orchards in the north while the province’s southern areas, especially those bordering Iran, are famous for dates.

Yields of fruit crops have increased so much that even an average land-owner is able to grow the required production, use of agro chemicals to protect their fruit production and increasing road network specially farm to markets roads has added may fold to their productivity. But, the production mechanism favours certain vested-interest groups involved in the fruit business. Statistics showed that 95 per cent of land-owners and zamindars sub-let their orchards when their fruit trees are just on blossoming.

Wealthy and experienced contractors keep an eye on fruit orchards and bargain with zamindars according to their production assessment and prevailed market conditions. The system is basically run by contractor.

Fruit prices are initially manipulated by contractors. Sometimes he strikes a bargain with different agents far away from Balochistan for handsome prices. Growers, who look after their own crop production, form 5 per cent of the total number of growers in Pakistan. It has little or no influence when it comes to price manipulation.

Other factors affecting the local fruit price, is the cost of productivity, transportation and charges involved in marketing the commodity. Factors such as fruit export to domestic and foreign markets and monopoly of sedentary fruit sellers escalates fruits prices in the local market.