HARIPUR, May 1: Besides Khanpur’s citrus and lychee fruits, loquat is another popular seasonal fruit of Haripur district that is in great demand in Punjab and other parts of the country.

Haripur has orchards of citrus, guava, lychee and other fruits spread over 1,292 acres, but loquat orchards alone are spread over 190 hectares that yield 1,884 tons of annual produce, according to crop reporting center’s statistics.

The pale yellow sweet and sour juicy fruit of loquat has two main species – desi and grafted. A grafted species is a bit bigger in size than the desi or the local specie grown for decades in Haripur.

Due to favorable temperature and soil, loquat is produced in great quantity and supplied to markets in Rawalpinidi, Islamabad and Lahore. Hundreds of laborers are engaged annually in the process of its watering, picking, packing and transportation to other cities. Roadside makeshift kiosks on Abbottabad Road are another source of livelihood for the local farmers that attract the attention of travellers.

However, the last year’s torrential rains and pest attack have affected the produce considerably. “A tree that used to produce about 10-kg of fruit is now yielding about 5-kg loquat fruit,” a local farmer Farman said and added that size of the fruit had also shrunken due to seasonal changes.

Due to reduced yield, the per kg price of loquat has shot up to Rs60 from the last year’s rate of Rs30 per kg, he said.