MINGORA: Peach growers and dealers here say they have suffered heavy losses caused by the recent hail and windstorms.

According to Swat agriculture research centre, about 70,000 metric tons of peach of various varieties is produced in Swat where the harvest begins in May and continues till September.

The valley produces about 70 per cent of the total produce in the country.

The farmers said they earned a handsome living by producing peach every year.

However, this year hailstorm and rain coupled with gusty winds damaged more than 50 per cent of the orchards mainly of peaches, apricot and plums.

“I am a permanent peach dealer and this year I got 15 orchards on lease but frequent hailstorms destroyed them, causing me an estimated Rs400,000 loss,” said Abdul Wadud, adding hailstorm and heavy winds started when majority of the trees were in full bloom.

He said he was expecting more than 5,000 boxes from one of the orchards, but got only 800.

“I will get only Rs200,000 from the orchard against the expected Rs1 million,” he added.

Some dealers said they did not get peach orchards on lease this year after the hailstorm.

“I would get 40 to 50 peach orchards on lease and transport the fruit to different markets, but this year peach orchards have been damaged by torrential rains and hailstorms in March, April and May,” said Hazrat Ali, a fruit dealer.

Hundreds of transporters are also connected with the peach produce in Swat, where according to the dealers, about 200 trucks loaded with the fruit move to different parts of the country daily.

“We would transport peaches to different cities, including Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Karachi daily from May to September every year, but not this year,” said Abdul Bari, a truck driver.

The affected farmers have demanded of the government to help them make up for the losses.

When contacted, district development advisery committee chairman Fazal Hakim Khan said the government was aware about the losses caused by hailstorm and would help the affected farmers.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2020