Apple- Demand of Kashmiri apples dropped by 30%

The fruit growers and traders in Kashmir are presently a worried lot because in the Delhi market there is almost 30% drop in demand for Kashmiri apples as compared to last season.

The stakeholders believe the drop in the demand is a result of the “overall economic downturn” coupled with some local factors.

The stakeholders they said “The quality of the fruit is not that good this year mainly because of the inclement weather and use of substandard pesticides and fungicides.”

The improper grading of the fruit has dwindled the demand, said Bashir and Baseer, President, Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Cum Dealers Union (KVFG).

He said “About 70% of the apple fruit produced in Kashmir is of B and C grade which is sold at throwaway prices of Rs 100- Rs 250 per box in the Delhi market and only 30% fruit is of A-grade which fetches a dealer somewhere between Rs 500-Rs 600 per box."

Basheer said “Any extraordinary quality fruit will fetch maximum Rs 700 per box.” According to Basheer almost 90% of apple growers are ‘small time growers’ with just 10 -20 kanals of land. “There is almost Rs 60 – Rs 70 transportation cost along with insurance and labour charges per box.

The small grower is left with no profit. According to Basheer, lack of testing labs and grading machines has negatively impacted apple industry. The state government should increasingly focus on high density plants and provide rootstocks on subsidy, said a sopore-based apple grower.

Source: http://www.greaterkashmir.com/