SARGODHA: The kinnow growers here have urged the authorities concerned to formulate an effective mechanism for deciding fair rates of their produce, saying there was need to break the monopoly of citrus exporters and factory owners in the division.
The growers said that Sargodha district, being the largest market of kinnow production, has a lot of processing plants for which the government introduced incentives and opportunities. However, they said the growers still await incentives and attention in this regard. Agriculture department’s official seeking anonymity said that all the stake holders should join hands to present some criteria for devising reasonable rates so that farmers could be given appropriate rates.
Growers alleged that the factory owners decide kinnow rates without considering efforts of growers in producing quality citrus. A grower, Shahbaz, said that kinnow rates should be decided by the growers to provide relief to small farmers. He said that demand of kinnow was increasing day by day, but the rates were like previous years.
Another farmer, Khalid, lamented that he never received proper rates of his orchard and now he was removing his kinnow plants to be replaced by peach plants and other crops. He hoped that the best price could be received from his new farm. He alleged that factory owners make actual profit after giving small amounts to growers.
