How does a peach make its way from Swat to the rest of the four corners of Pakistan? And which ones are the best?

There are at least eight varieties of peaches, varying in taste and colour depending on the time of the month they are picked in.

Harhey is the first kind of peach that is picked by the 10th of May and they last on the trees for at least 10 to 15 days. The second variety of peach lasts for 10 days on trees, as its peel is thinner. The third type of peach is robust and can last on the tree for two or three days after ripening.

They have different price points depending on the time they take to ripen and the duration it takes for them to spoil. The best peach according to gardeners and labourers alike has to be type five, sometimes called four and a half.

This variety can fetch up to Rs500 to Rs600 per carton in the market and has sold for as much as Rs 800 in the past.

A lot of people in Swat depend on peaches for their livelihood and even though the cultivation of the fruit only lasts two and a half to three months, maintaining the orchard is a year-round job.

“A shopkeeper gives us a rate of Rs 57 for the peaches but after we buy burr (a special type of dried grass) and material for the carton, it can cost anywhere from Rs 120 to Rs 132 to pack peaches,” said Jamil Alam, a gardener from Sarsenai village in Swat.

Peach trees need to be sprayed with pesticides, given fertilizer such as urea and their sprawling branches need to be trimmed during the winter.

Labourers also lean on peaches for their livelihood, earning around Rs1,000 as daily wage. The cost of picking the fruit is high, while a good rate is not set for peaches in the market. Orchard owners do not help matters by not reducing lease prices. This shortens the margin of profit for all those involved including the gardener.

Many labourers and gardeners depend on the smell of the orchard, after it starts smelling a particular way, the peaches cannot be left on the trees and they have to be sent to the market.

Peach picking season lasts till August

A peach tree needs at least one to two kilos of urea and other fertilizers. This year owing to the high cost, farmers have had to halve the quantity needed for a tree. This has definitely lowered the fruit yield. A bag of urea would cost Rs3500 till last year, and this year the price jumped to Rs9000 to Rs10000.

Growing, cultivating and selling peaches are not very lucrative careers, and wages are minimum, which also leads to minimum savings and if a batch of peaches rots, the losses incurred are felt across the labour chain.

This year things look bleak for peach growers, owing to the high cost of fertilizer as well as changes in temperature due to global warming. Transport costs are also high, especially now that petrol prices are sky-high.

A truck from Swat to Sialkot charges Rs45,000 and sometimes cars are just not available.

Ali Arqam is a writer based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa