Cultivation and Market of Apples

In the mountainous regions in the north-west of Punjab, North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Balochistan grow almost all temperate fruits. Growing of fruit trees is good business both for farmers and for the country. In Pakistan, the area of apple orchards is 111.600 hectares with a total production of 351.900 tons per year. Balochistan is the main region with a production of 230.300 tons and an area of apples cultivation of 101.900 hectares. During the nineties the production of Balochistan increased to all time record and reached to 330.300 tons in 1999 after sharp decrease in production due to drought. Year 2002 in Balochistan region saw another decline down to 38.000 hectares but in 2005 the area of apple orchards increased again to 101.900 hectares. The yield fell in the late 90s and got down to the lowest level 2,16 kg per hectare in 2005. The most important wholesale markets of fresh apple are Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab, Karachi and Hyderabad in Sindh, Quetta and Peshawar in Balochistan.