Pulwama: This year’s plum harvest across Kashmir, despite being bountiful, has left local growers disheartened due to significantly low market rates per kilogram.
The stone fruit, which many farmers hoped would bring substantial profits, has instead mirrored the fate of last year’s apple harvest, bringing financial distress to those who depend on it.
Ghulam Hassan Sofi, a marginal farmer from Wahibugh village in Pulwama district, expressed distress and said, “Last year, despite a low yield, we got a decent price of rupees 60 per kilogram. This year, even with a good crop, the rate has plummeted to rupees 20 per kilogram”.
This drastic drop in price has severely impacted growers’ incomes, many of whom have been suffering from low market demand since last year.
In 2023, low demand for apples forced farmers to store their produce in controlled atmosphere (CA) stores, hoping for better prices during the off-season.
However, even then, they barely covered their costs due to additional storage expenses.
This season, farmers anticipated good returns from the plum harvest, but their hopes have been dashed as the fruit followed the same disappointing trajectory as apples.
Shakir Ahmad, a Plum trader from Kazipora village in Budgam, shed light on another issue affecting plum prices. “Growers from plain areas harvested the fruit early, when it was still unripe, leading to lower market rates. However, in the past few days, the market has improved, and we expect growers from the Kandi belt to get better rates,” he noted.
He observed that approximately 80% of the plums purchased from farmers are stored in CA stores at the industrial growth centre in Lassipora, with only 20% reaching the market immediately.
Shabir Ahmad, a plum grower from Ranger village in Chadoora Tehsil of Budgam, shared his woes about the financial viability of plum farming.
“We can hardly recover the costs of labour and pesticides from the sale of our produce. Last year, a large quantity of plums stored in CA stores rotted, leading to heavy losses for many prominent dealers. As a result, these dealers are hesitant to purchase plums this season, contributing to the low demand,” he explained.
He observed that this year, dealers are cautious, storing only the best quality plums in cold storage facilities while segregating out stained and lower quality fruit.
This selective storage is intended to prevent a repeat of last year’s losses.
Javid Ahmad Bhat, Chief Horticulture Officer of Pulwama, emphasised the need for exploring different marketing strategies for plums and other major horticulture crops like apples.
“Apple stored in CA stores last year did not fetch the expected rates, adding the burden of storage charges on growers. It’s time to think beyond traditional marketing techniques and explore different channels, including direct marketing,” he advised.
He acknowledged that while farmers have been storing plums in CA stores for the past couple of years, there have been failures due to the perishable nature of the crop.
“We need storage interventions to increase the shelf life of plums so that their supply in the market can be regulated. Horticulture Planning and Marketing must seek alternative strategies to benefit the farmers,” Bhat concluded.
To share more about the situation, the Authorities from the Horticulture Planning and Marketing Department were unavailable for comment.
