Srinagar: Apple growers and traders in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir have expressed concern over a significant drop in fruit prices in the last few weeks.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the growers from different areas said apples fetched good returns earlier but now rates have dipped with some 10 per cent of the produce yet to reach mandis from Controlled Atmosphere (CA) Storages.
Aafaq Ahmad, an apple trader from Pulwama, said that A grade apple would fetch over Rs 1300 per box in October, November and December last year but now it is sold for around Rs 900-1000. He said the same is the case with B-grade apples and rates have witnessed a decline of around Rs 200 per box.
The growers said that the main reason behind the decline in prices is continuous import of apples from other countries.
Subzar Ahmed, a apple trader from Shopian, said that they sold apples at higher rates in October and November last year but are currently facing losses as rates have decreased by around 20-30 percent. He said that traders who kept their produce in CA storages will face more losses if rates won’t go up in the coming weeks.
Pertinently, around 3 lakh metric tons of apples are stored in CA storages across occupied Kashmir. The occupied territory on average produces over 20 lakh metric tonnes of apple every year.
As per the 2017 economic survey, half of territory’s population is directly or indirectly dependent on the apple industry and over 3.5 lakh hectares are under apple cultivation.
