b 6 001 b12 citrus in wana

7/28/2019 B 6 001 B12 Citrus in WANA

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/b-6-001-b12-citrus-in-wana 1/6

7/28/2019 B 6 001 B12 Citrus in WANA

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/b-6-001-b12-citrus-in-wana 2/6

percent and 18.2 percent respectively (10) (Table 2). The causes of these high losses

were:

1.  Immaturity and over maturity at harvest.

2.  Mechanical damage during harvest, transport and during distribution.

3.  Water loss (wilting) due to poor handling system.4.  Decay (Blue and Green mold) and insect damage (Med. Fruit fly).

Postharvest handling procedures of citrus in WANA region

Maturity indices and quality standards

The maturity indices are either not available or not enforced especially for local

market in most countries in the region, but in exporting countries as Egypt, Tunisia,

Lebanon etc. one would assume that harvesting must be according to a strict maturity

index for each type of citrus fruits. For local market, prices would have an impact,

since early harvested fruits have a higher price. In many countries in the region, no

standards for quality of fresh citrus fruits are used in local marketing (7), however,some quality standard is available in countries as Kuwait, Oman, Lebanon and

probably in countries as Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Tunisia. Again, quality standards

must be in use by citrus exporting countries in the region to meet the regulations of 

the importing countries.

Harvesting of citrus

Harvesting of citrus for fresh market is done by hand in all countries in the WANA

region. Normally, fruits are cut with hand clippers and collected in picking bags and

then transferred to field containers and then transported to packinghouses. This

system is carried out in some countries in the region especially for fruits intended for

export (Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, and Lebanon). However, for fruits to be consumed

locally, and in other countries of the region (Libya, Sudan for example), fruits are

collected by hand and placed in marketing boxes or bags with a capacity of about 5

kg. and transferred directly to the market. However, some sorting is usually done

during picking to eliminate defected fruits. Care should be taken to handle the fruit

carefully to reduce physical damage since losses during harvest of some fruits and

vegetables in some countries of the region were estimated to be 4-12 percent (7). The

losses during harvest were estimated in Libya to be 13.6 percent and 7.6 percent for

oranges and lemons respectively (Table 2) (10). The causes of these losses at this

stage were 1- immaturity for oranges and over maturity for lemons 2- inefficiency of 

harvest leading to mechanical damage 3-decay due to pathogen and insect damage.

Preparation for market

For local market, preparation of citrus fruits distend for local market is usually done to

eliminate fruits with serious defects or decay, and this is usually carried out in the

field in most countries in the region. However, in some countries some grading based

on appearance quality such as size, color, and defects is done (7). Packinghouses are

few and not in all countries in the region, and packinghouse operations such as

cleaning, sorting, grading, and waxing are applied only to fruits intended for export.

7/28/2019 B 6 001 B12 Citrus in WANA

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/b-6-001-b12-citrus-in-wana 3/6

7/28/2019 B 6 001 B12 Citrus in WANA

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/b-6-001-b12-citrus-in-wana 4/6

consumer does not accept easily fruits that are out of season, they simply think that

these fruits are not good.

Export of citrus in the WANA region

The extent of export of citrus fruits in the region is not known, however, Egypt,

Tunisia, Morocco exports some quantities of citrus to countries in the WANA regionor to countries outside the region (7). Lebanon exported in the year 2000, 108,405

tonnes of citrus to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and U.A.E. (Abu Zeid, personal

communication). Other countries have the potential for export, however, changes have

to be implemented in postharvest handling practices to become competitive with other

exporting countries. This should include (7):

- Planting varieties desired in importing countries.

- Application of good agricultural practices.

- Harvesting at the proper stage of maturity.

- Good preparation of the fruits for export markets which include, cleaning,

sorting, sizing, waxing, packing, etc., this has to be done to meet quality

standards and regulations imposed by the importing countries.- Use of all means to maintain quality in order to be competitive with fruits from

other exporting countries.

- Use of refrigerated transportation facilities (trucks, railcars, and marine) within

the producing countries and during transport to countries of consumption.

- Grade standards need to be established and enforced between countries in the

region, and this will encourage good quality

Conclusion

The postharvest handling system of citrus fruits in the WANA region is in desperate

need of improvement beginning with establishing maturity indices and quality

standards, through to harvesting and handling methods. Major changes need to be

done to improve the marketing system. Investment in this sector should be directed

toward transportation facilities, cold stores, and packinghouses. Changes also have to

be made in gernmental regulation in areas of price control, consumer protection etc.

Good effort should be made to increase consumer awareness of the benefits of 

storage. Efforts should be directed toward encouraging the private sector to invest in

postharvest handling of fruits and vegetables in the region.

7/28/2019 B 6 001 B12 Citrus in WANA

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/b-6-001-b12-citrus-in-wana 5/6

Table 1. Citrus production in the world and countries of the WANA region.

Country Production (1000 MT)

Orange Mandarin Lemon Grapefruit

World 61 882 16 704 9 640 4 785

Algeria 307 115 29 2

Egypt 1 525 425 259 3Libya 42 10 14 -

Morocco 874 419 10 4

Somalia 8 - 3 18

Sudan 17 1 58 65

Tunisia 105 38 17 50

Cyprus 43 26 19 33

Gaza strip 105 1 9 10

Iran 1 749 727 891 47

Iraq 300 39 15 -

Jordan 31 28 42 12

Lebanon 155 35 4 54Oman - - 31 -

Pakistan 1 450 540 82 -

Syria 275 15 68 -

Turkey 830 410 360 65

UAE - - 21 -

Yemen 154 20 8 11

Source: FAO production yearbook 1999.

Table 2. Postharvest losses of oranges and lemons in Libya between harvest and

consumption

At FarmerLevel %

Duringmarketing %

At ConsumerLevel %

Total loss %

Oranges 13.6 9.2 19.7 42.5

Lemons 7.6 4.3 6.3 18.2

Source: Tamzini et al 1992.

Table 3. Storage conditions for different citrus fruits

Orange Lemon Grapefruit Mandarin

Temperature C 4-8 12-14 12-14 5-8Relative Humidity percent 88-90 88-90 88-90 88-90

Storage period WKS 8-12 16-24 4-6 3-5

Source: Hardenburg et. al 1986, Kader et al 1986, Yahia and Sanudo 1991

References:

FAO. 1981. Food loss prevention in perishable crops. FAO. Agric. Serv. Bul. No. 43.

72 p.

7/28/2019 B 6 001 B12 Citrus in WANA

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/b-6-001-b12-citrus-in-wana 6/6

FAO. 2001. FAO production yearbook. Vol. 35. 1999.

Coursey, D.G. 1983. Post Harvest losses in perishable foods of the developing world,

p.485-514. In M. Lieberman, (ed.) Postharvest physiology and crop

preservation. Plenum press, New York.

Elyatem, S.M. 1995. Postharvest physiology and handling of horticultural crops. New

Univ. printing office. Alexandria. Egypt. ( In Arabic).

Elyatem, S.M. 1996. Postharvest losses of fruits and vegetables. Proceeding of the

second conference on food strategies. Alfateh Univ. Tripoli, Libya

Hardenburg, R.E., A.E. Watada, and C.Y. Wang. 1986. The commercial storage of 

fruits, vegetables, and florist and nursery stocks. U.S. Department of 

Agriculture. Agricultural Handbook No. 66. 130 p.

Kader, A. 1979. Postharvest losses of fruits and vegetables in some countries of the

Near East and North Africa. FAO. Consultancy report on postharvest handlingof fruits and vegetables in the Middle East. 133p.

.

Kader, A. A., R.F. Kasmire, F.G. Mitchell, M.S. Reid, N.F. Sommer, and J.F.

Thompson. 1985. Postharvest technology of horticultural crops. Univ. of 

Calif., DANR special publ. No. 3311. 192 p.

National Academy of Sciences. 1978. Postharvest food losses in developing countries.

National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 202 p.

Tamzini, M.I.; S. M. Elyatem.; Z.M. Bensaad.; H. Fallah and B. Derbak. 1992.

Postharvest losses of horticultural crops in Libya. Proceeding of the first Arab

conference on preparation and handling of horticultural crops. Amman, Jordan.

Yahia, E.M., and R.B. Sanudo. 1991. Postharvest handling of subtropical fruits p.287-

295. In Yahia, E.M., and I.C. Higuera. Eds. Postharvest physiology and

technology of horticultural crops. Proceedings of the national symposium on

postharvest physiology and technology of horticultural crops in Mexico. 351 p.