India: Crash in domestic apple market
"Traders had anticipated that there would be major loss in apple crop in Himachal Pradesh and the Jammu & Kashmir due to floods and hailstorms. But in reality, there was no major loss," said Sudhir Behrani, owner of Sudhir Traders at Delhi's Azadpur mandi.
Prices of imported apples have dropped 30 per cent, Behrani said, adding that traders had imported 30-40 per cent more quantity from overseas markets including the United States, Australia and New Zealand, resulting in a glut in the market.
Traders said that Washington saw a higher-than-expected production last season and a significant portion of them came to India, which ranks as the third-largest export destination for Washington apples after Canada and Mexico.
Imported Apple prices crash in domestic market due to huge imports
The apples that are being offloaded in the market now are coming from cold storages, said Ravinder Chauhan, president of the Himachal Pradesh-based Apple Growers Association of India.
Apple growers got a higher price of Rs 2,000 per 20 kg box this time compared to Rs 1,500 earlier, he said. While Indian apples are selling for Rs 80-100 a kg, imported apples are retailing for Rs 150-200 a kg, he added.
While Himachal Pradesh produces about three crore boxes of apples every year, output in the Jammu & Kashmir is much higher at eight crore boxes, according to traders. India's total production of apples is about 1.9 million tonnes annually.
Source: indiatimes.com
