SHANGLA: The growers of red persimmon in Shangla are having a good produce and sales this year than the previous years due to favourable weather conditions.

Shangla is known for production of the fruit in large quantities.

“This year a tree produced 1,200 kilogrammes of the fruit, which is almost double the quantity produced last year. The prices this year are also good as merchants from Swat and other districts continue to buy the orchards from the local growers,” Mirza Mohammad, a fruit dealer, told Dawn.

He said his sons were also associated with the business as he daily loaded a truck at Chakat, Karora and sold the fruit in the Peshawar fruit markets.

Grower Lal Zaman said production of persimmon and pear this year almost doubled compared to the last many years because of favourable weather conditions.

Replying to a question, he said both the buyers and sellers of persimmon were reaping healthy benefits. He said the fruit was being supplied to Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Multan and Peshawar.

Nisar Ahmed, another fruit dealer, said a 10kg carton of persimmon was selling from Rs200 to Rs380 in different fruit markets. He said sale of the fruit would last till November end. He said the fruit this year was also tasty, attracting great number of buyers.

Zulfiqar Ali, a grower, said the bumper production of persimmon this year was because of favourable weather conditions. He said Shangla was known for producing pear, peach, orange and guava. However, he said there was no input or help from the agriculture department.

The growers and merchants urged the government to help increase the plantation area of persimmon to not only boost its production but also create more job opportunities for the locals.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2020