Apple prices show slight recovery, offer hope to Kashmir growers
Shopian, Oct 12: After weeks of plummeting rates and market uncertainty, apple prices in Kashmir have shown a modest recovery, offering a glimmer of relief to orchardists reeling from one of the toughest seasons in recent years. According to traders and growers, the prices of certain varieties have improved slightly over the past few days, particularly for the harvest arriving from Shopian district, the area known for producing quality first-rate apples.
Mohammad Ashraf Wani, president of the Fruit Mandi Shopian, said that the recent uptick in prices has brought some optimism among farmers.
“Prices have seen a small surge,” he said. “The Delicious variety is now selling between Rs 500 and Rs 700 per box, compared to Rs 400 to Rs 600 earlier. Similarly, the Kullu Delicious variety , which had dropped sharply in late September, is now priced between Rs 900 and Rs 1,000, up from Rs 750 to Rs 800.”, Wani added.
However, he pointed out that the improvement is limited to select consignments from Shopian, while rates in other producing areas have remained largely stagnant. “The rise is not uniform. The Shopian harvest has fetched better prices due to its quality. Prices for produce from Pulwama and other areas remained the same ,” he added.
Despite the marginal recovery, most markets across south Kashmir continue to be flooded with B-grade and C-grade fruit. Growers said that high-quality produce has mostly been diverted to Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storage facilities, where farmers hope to fetch better prices during the lean winter months. “Good-quality apples are being stored instead of being sold immediately. This I see as a key reason for low prices,” said Abdul Rashid, an orchardist from the Shopian area. According to Wani, over 2.5 crore apple crates have been stored in CA facilities so far.
This season apple trade has been hit hard by erratic weather and transport disruptions. Heavy rains, multiple spells of hailstorms in June and July followed by Jammu-Srinagar national highway caused significant crop damage across several apple producing districts.
