Impact of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) on Fruit Industry in Gilgit-Baltistan

Abstract : Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) is consider one of important contributor of fruit production in Pakistan however, Production of fruit is low as compare to other parts of country due to different factor like, remoteness, Shortage infrastructure (road), lack of market and traditional practice’s etc. Therefore, this study was aimed to develop linkages between CPEC and fruit industry of GB. The study was based on both primary and secondary data as well as quantitative and qualitative data. Primary data was collected from field through face to face interview using well-structured questionnaire and secondary data was collected from different sources i.e. books, articles and journals. Simple Random Sampling Technique was used to collect data from farmers and Shopkeepers and the Snowball sampling technique was used to collect data particularly from middlemen. The data was collected from three type of respondents i.e. farmers, shopkeepers and retailers. The data was collected through well-structured questionnaires including both quantitative and qualitative parts. Data was described with the help of graphs and tables. The data shows that there were strong linkages between CPEC and fruit (Dry and Fresh) industry of GB. The finding of  this study revealed that hindrance that decline fruit production in like lack of transportation, low price, climate change, lack of market information, lack of government service, lack of cultivated land tradition method of production, pest and disease, lack of industries and lack of technical expertise. The opinion of respondents regarding does “CPEC will open new opportunities for local people to boost their fruit production and uplift their livelihoods” is very positive as 74% farmers, 85 % shopkeepers and 90% middlemen   agreed with the statement. The research also revealed that 90% farmers, 80%, shopkeepers and 86% middlemen were in opinion that CPEC will improve communication and accessibility with other parts of the country while, 87% farmers, 85% shopkeepers and 90% middlemen agreed that it will reduced transportation cost. The study also finds that 75% farmers, 60% shopkeepers and 80% middlemen claimed that after implementation of this project agriculture and life standard of farmers will improve because it helps to improve our fruits production. Moreover, the data shows that average gross production of fresh fruit in Manipin was greater than gross production in Syedabad on the other side. One of the interesting finding of the study is that the Opinion on “Negative Implication of CPEC on GB” Environment i.e. 80% local farmers, 85% Shopkeepers and 90% middlemen claimed that CPEC will further lead climatic changes in GB, 73% farmers, 70% Shopkeepers and 80% middlemen agreed that CPEC will lead land degradation. 75% farmers, 80% Shopkeepers and 50% claimed that after implementation of CPEC local fruit industry will not able compete Chinese exports.

Introduction

Geographically, Pakistan located between 24°-37°N latitude and 61°-75°E longitude, with arid to Semiarid Climate. The total stated area of the country is 79.6 million hectares; roughly 37.1% is cultivated area, 11.5% is cultivable waste and 31% is non-arable. Total area under horticultural crops is less than 6%. The average farm size in the country is 3.1 hectares which will further decrease with each down generation due to land distribution. (Pakistan horticulture development & export board 2007). According to Ministry of Food, Agriculture & Livestock (MINFAL, 2010) Presently, the total area under fruits & vegetables (including potato crops is about 1.178 million hectares, with fruits distribution almost 69% and vegetables 31% during 2005-06. During the same year, country produced about11.840 million tons of fruits and vegetables, in which fruit shared 7.148 million tones (60.5%) and vegetables (including potato) 4.692 million tones (39.5). Ghafoor (2013) found that agriculture is back bone of Pakistan economy and contributing 21.8% to GDP. Fruits plays an important constituent of agricultural economy in Pakistan. The country is Producing and exporting a large variety of fruits which mainly includes citrus, mango, apple and dates. Among major fruit crops, mango has got a supreme position regarding its area, production and export. Ghafoor (2008) State that Pakistan is blessed with immense natural resource in term of soil season and irrigation system that make Pakistan to produce agriculture commodities. According to him due to agro climatic setting especially Indus plain are very suit for fruit cultivation. Pakistan is producing large different types of fruits on a large area of 681,070 hectares with a total production of 5,751,800 million tones. Out of which 262 thousand tones fruits are exported from the country (Govt. of Pak, 2007).  Gilgit-Baltistan is a highly mountainous and distant area covering 72,496 sq km with around 1.3 million populations (FAO, 2014). Land-use in the region is dominated by subsistence farming fruit production, livestock raising, forestry and preserving protected land and only 2% land of Gilgit-Baltistan is supposed to be cultivable for fruit production (khan, 2009). From an agro-ecological view Gilgit-Baltistan is principally well-suited for the production of deciduous fruit and dry fruit (Doolan, 1993). It provides the dependable climatic settings for the growth of numerous fruits and dry fruits   such as apricots, almond and mulberry Muhammad et.al, (2015). In the Gilgit-Baltistan there is rich of fruit trees distributed all over areas Like Cherry, apricot, apple and mulberry almond are the most collective fruit in the region Saddozai et.al, (2008). The total number of plants is estimated at some 2307, 800 in the Gilgit-Baltistan (Shafiullah et.al, 2003).

Problem Statement of the study

Fruits and nuts are widely grown throughout the in Gilgit–Baltistan. Fruit (fresh and dried) production is constrained by different of factors, including the lack of cultivable land, lacking awareness about improved agricultural management practices and a lack of quality seeds Abbas et.al, (2011).  There are no formal quality standards for apricot and very little market information available in Gilgit. Due to the distance from final consumer markets, producers and local traders are unaware of consumer needs and traders continue supplying poor quality and low-value apricots to auction markets down country Mir el.at, (2013). Marketing functions are performed in a traditional method and markets for fruit products may not function efficiently. There are generally great differences between prices paid by consumer and those received by producers (Khan, 1980 and Mohy-ud-Din, 1991). This study will be focus on hindrance that local farmer facing during fruit production and also will highlight implication of China -Pakistan economic corridor on local community.

Objectives

To Study effects of China -Pakistan economic corridor on   fruit industry of Gilgit-Baltistan.

To highlight the hindrance that decrease fruit production in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Literature review

 According to Sharif et.al, (2005) Pakistan is blessed with an ideal agro–ecological environmental setting which is conducive to the production of nearly thirty types of fruit like citrus, mango, apple, cheery and dates are most common. The market value of these fruits produced during 2002-03 is estimated at about Rs 73 billion, which is roughly 6.73 percent of agriculture value added in the year. According to Pakistan horticulture development & export board (2007) traditional Pakistan is an agricultural country and agricultural sector is still considering main contributor in Pakistani economy with almost 21.6% share of GDP. The sector is also playing an important role in employment generation particular in rural communities where an estimate 95% of total employed opportunities. Horticultural is sub sector of agricultural sector which also main sector of agricultural economy by contributing about 12% to the national agricultural GDP.Khan (2016) Stated that Allah almighty has gifted the suitable land that is most suitable for delicious fruit production with high quality fruit and vegetable and consider primary source of income generation in whole GB. The total fruit production in Gilgit-Baltistan is 149769 Metric tons (Apricot 108588, Apple 19054, Grapes 6413, Pear 2579, Peach 3308, Pomegranate 4287, Cherry 2256, Mulberry 9092, Walnut 5992, Almond 1700 and Sea buckthorn 3600.He also argued that unfortunately pre and post-harvest losses of fruit  are 50-70 % every year due to lack of Due to lack of processing, preservation, testing, transportation, communication and research large amount of fruit, vegetable goes wasted and does not reach in market because fruits are highly perishable. Agricultural marketing infrastructure plays vital role in improving functioning of agriculture marketing system. According to Tusneem (2009) effective logistic systems improve functioning of market system. If the transport services are infrequent, of poor quality or expensive then farmers will be at a disadvantageous position in selling their crops as an expensive service will lead to low farm gate prices (the net price the farmer receives from selling his produce). In low income countries agriculture is consider major sector. Its play a vital role in income generation and employment in rural areas (Reardon et al., 1998; Haggblade et al., 1989). There has been a great relationship between infrastructure developments and sustained out growth demonstrated by many international studies (Aschauer, and Canning, 1998). Binswanger et.al, (1987)   collected data from 58 countries and   found that   positive and significant correlation between road development and overall agriculture output.  These views have also been supported by many Asian studies (Ruttan, 2002; Mundlak et al., 2004).   Institutional commodity flows Figure Shows the institutional chain map for GB Fruits. Production is carried out by smallholder producers who also carry out the drying process. The majority of the harvest is dried and sold down-country through auctions. Dry fruit are bought at farm-gate by collectors/traders or delivered to wholesalers based in Gilgit. The wholesalers in Gilgit usually operate a retail store in the market and trade in several agro-food products, e.g. apricot, cherry, walnut and almond. The Gilgit wholesaler carries out some cleaning and sorting and bag the dried fruit into 50kg hessian bags for transport down-country and sale to wholesalers or through auction markets in other regions.  There are a few small processors in Gilgit who carry out additional transformation of the dried fruit into a high-value product for export. Dried fruit are bought direct from farmers, then cleaned and graded. The dried fruit is packed in Gilgit, transported overland to Karachi and shipped in a container via Felixstowe to buyers in UK. Dry fruit oil processors also buy the discarded kernel from farmers, extract the oil and package it for sale to customer’s down-country. Fresh apricot is often bought as a standing crop by a down-country ‘contractor’. The contractor pays a lump sum to the farmer and then organizes the harvest, packing and transport of the apricot to auction markets down-country

CPEC and Fruit Industry of GB

Faraz (2016) Stated that CPEC would open Chinese and central Asian market for Pakistan fruits like orange, apples, cherries, dates and banana etc. It will give more opportunities of sources livelihood. CPEC will also provide new technology like pesticides, seed, and fertilizer. Rafi et.al, (2016) argued that CPEC will actually exploration of china economy which will bring stability and prosperity in Pakistan, once it will have built it will provide any gateway to access middle east and central Asia faster, easier and cheaper way. He further argued that it will connect different province will enhance local economies. The region of Gilgit-Baltistan is known for its fresh fruit exports, like cherries, apricot and apples, CPEC will be a game changer by opening business opportunities for the region's traders. This will provide local traders with an advantage and help them double their sales by tremendous saving in cost of transportation. Presently, fruits are being exported through air-cargo via Dubai it would be faster and cheaper if the same could be sent by road to China via Xinjiang.