Since early September, a peak month of apple harvesting, there has been a frequent halting of apple-laden trucks leaving Kashmir for different parts of the country on the arterial Srinagar-Jammu National Highway. Despite assurances from the government, which includes removing SSP traffic, national highways for the delay in the movement of trucks, transportation is still a problem.
Apple production accounts for over 78% of India’s total annual output of apples and is also an employment generator for over 3.5 million people. Around 331,000 hectare of land is under the fruit cultivation in Jammu and Kashmir, of which around 167,000 hectares is under apple cultivation.
The losses incurred at the beginning of the harvest season have kept disgruntling the cultivators as prices refuse to go up in markets across India. And while many have dismissed the case by putting the blame on highway hassles, there’s more that’s furthering the rot in Kashmir’s prized orchards.
According to local apple-growers, this year, the fruit ripened early which preponed harvest. This created a clash in the market for Kashmir’s apples with those from Himachal. And still, this is not all. According to local growers, this year, Kashmir’s apple production was a bumper crop, while the demand remained the same, if not lower.
Source: kashmirobserver.net