Early apple, pear varieties fetch good returns this year

Srinagar, Aug 17: The early apple and pear varieties in Kashmir Valley are fetching good rates in markets outside the valley.
President, Sopore Fruit Mandi Fayaz Ahmad Malik said this year there is decline in apple crop in Kashmir as well as in Shimla. He said this year there has been a decrease in the number of trucks that used to be exported to outside the valley from Sopore fruit mandi this season.
“Last year, the crop production was 90 percent and this year it is 50 to 60 percent. There is a gap of 30 percent owing to the rains in Shimla,” he said.
Interestingly, he said last year, the Sopore Mandi would export 150 trucks of fruits in a day during this season which have now declined to 80 or 90 trucks a day this season.
Malik said that the early varieties that have ripened and fetch good prices in markets outside the valley these days are razakwari apple, red delicious, red galla, pear etc.
“Last year, one box of razakwari apples was sold at Rs 300-350 and this season it fetches Rs 400-600. Last year, one box of red delicious food would fetch Rs 200-250 and today it fetches Rs 350-450. Similarly, one box of red galla was sold at Rs 600-700 however this season it is sold at Rs 800-1000. Likewise, pear was sold at Rs 300-600 and this season one box is sold at Rs 600-900. It depends on the quality of the fruit and rates vary,” he said.
Malik said that the rates are good this year compared to last year as production has been affected in Himachal.
“The production of apples is low but the rates are high in the markets. We are hopeful that this year the market remains good and farmers get the better process for produce,” he said.
Malik said the American variety of apple will start coming to mandis within the next two weeks and expressed optimism that this year will be good for apple and other fruit varieties.
American is the only apple variety of Kashmir that is imported to the international market like Bangladesh where the crop fetches good prices. “We hope that rates will go further up in the coming months so that losses from previous years can be compensated” he added.
Chairman of the Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Cum Dealers Union, Bashir Ahmad Basheer said the flood situation in Himachal Pradesh and other places did not put much impact on the import and export except the tomatoes, the prices of which are still high.
“When the tomatoes were in short supply, we did not even receive a single truck for a week which caused a rise in prices. First one kg of tomato was sold at Rs 130, then Rs 100 and now one kg is sold at Rs 70 at the fruit mandi,” he said.
Bashir also expressed pleasure over the current rates of early pear and apple varieties in markets outside Kashmir saying prices are good provided there is quality fruit.
Bashir said this year many States in India like Himachal Pradesh would have less production. He expected that this year there would be a decrease in production in the valley than the previous year.
In March, the valley’s farmers were worried about the early blooming of apple trees, which was an unusual phenomenon that experts attribute to global warming and fluctuating temperatures.
Annually Kashmir produces over 20 lakh mt of apple and in some years touches 25 lakh mt. The 2017 Economic Survey in J&K had said that half of Kashmir’s population is directly or indirectly dependent on the apple industry and over 3.5 lakh hectares are under apple cultivation.