Windfall apples flood Srinagar markets, consumers cry foul over quality, prices

Srinagar, Sep 25: Consumers in Srinagar are paying steep prices for poor-quality apples as traders collect fallen windfall fruit from orchards at rock-bottom rates and sell it in city markets.

Traders equipped with load carriers move through apple-rich districts such as Shopian, Pulwama, Baramulla, and Kulgam, gathering apples that have prematurely fallen from trees. These fruits are then sold to vendors in Srinagar and other major towns at Rs 35 to Rs 40 per kilogram.

“The apples are not only of poor quality, but pockmarked with scab and other disease spots,” said Sajad Ahmad, a resident of Lal Bazar.

Some consumers even reported finding worms and other pests inside the fruit. “When I cut one, there were worms inside it. Shockingly, such apples are being sold at almost premium prices,” he added.

Incessant rains this season triggered a massive fruit drop across Kashmir’s fruit belt. Many farmers estimate the drop at 35 to 40 percent. Locally known as ‘giraan’ (windfall), this phenomenon occurs when apples detach from trees before the regular harvest.

“Due to heavy rains, apple fruit absorbs excess water, gains weight, and often drops or becomes infested before it is collected,” said Tariq Ahmad, an apple farmer from Shopian.

While windfall fruit is usually discarded, sold cheaply for processing, or used as animal feed, informal traders are capitalising on it for profit.

“They buy the fallen fruit for as little as Rs 3 to Rs 5 per kilogram and sell it to urban vendors,” said an apple trader. “Once it reaches city markets, it is sold like regular apples, sometimes mixed with better-quality fruit.”

Consumers complain that authorities do not monitor or regulate the sale of windfall apples. “Selling windfall fruit without quality checks is a health risk,” said Abdul Rashid Bhat from Dalgate. “People may consume bruised or rotten apples unknowingly.”

Vendors, however, said they rely on supply from informal traders to meet consumer demand. “We get these apples in bulk from orchards,” said a fruit seller in Lal Chowk, requesting anonymity. “People buy them because the prices are low.”

Hilal Ahmad Mir, Assistant Commissioner of Food Safety, said the department is conducting regular inspections of vendors selling perishable items. He urged consumers to register complaints through the department’s toll-free number 104 and warned vendors against selling substandard or unhygienic products, cautioning that strict action would be taken against violators.