Orchardists and apple growers in South Kashmir’s Shopian district are aghast at the low market rates they are getting this year. Many say Kashmiri fruit is being intentionally sidelined in the national markets, despite it having a much improved quality this year.
According to market experts, the apple crop this year saw a 35 percent decline in rates, whether at local mandis or in markets outside the Valley. “This year, there is a good quality of fruit. The better climate this year was among the reasons for the better quality. But in the end, there was no matching demand for the Kashmiri apple right from the beginning of harvesting season,” said a horticulture expert from Shopian.
Horticulture experts said that there are about 150 markets based in different parts of India where the Kashmiri apple is traded. “None of the successive governments took any measures with the central government that the Kashmiri apple should be exported to neighbouring or western countries. How is it possible that an American, Australian and Italian fruit gets much higher rates than the Kashmir Delicious, which has better quality, crunch and taste than the imported ones?” asked a worried apple trader from Shopian.
Kashmirreader.com reported on official figures, saying that the Shopian district was expecting 3,29,310 metric tonnes of total horticulture production on 26,932 hectares of land. Experts say that 95 percent of the district’s population is directly dependent on the horticulture sector, particularly apple growing, and scores of orchardists have taken crop loans from different financial institutions and banks.
