India's fruit markets are seeing high apple arrivals from Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh following a strong harvest. Truckloads of fruit are reaching the Batasingaram market daily, supplying urban demand across the country.
Apples from Himachal Pradesh began arriving toward the end of August, followed by larger volumes from Kashmir in October. In the past week, around 19 tons of fruit reached Batasingaram from both regions. "A majority of the arrivals are from the Kashmir region. Himachal Pradesh is famous for 'Shimla variety', but then from Kashmir you get over a dozen varieties," said an official from Batasingaram market.
Shipments were disrupted in September by heavy rain and landslides that halted movement from the valley, but daily arrivals resumed in early October. In north Kashmir's Bandipore district, orchards are in peak harvest as growers push to deliver fruit before the Diwali festival. Nazir Ahmad, who manages his family's two-hectare orchard, said: "It is not for the first time that the festival (Diwali) adds to the speedy dispatch of fruit to the markets outside the valley."
Fruit is graded by size and quality, packed in wooden and cardboard boxes, and shipped to major markets, including Delhi's Azadpur Mandi. However, a three-week blockade on National Highway 44 between Banihal and Ramban from August 26 caused losses, with trucks stranded due to landslides near Udhampur.
"Initially, it was believed that the highway would reopen after a few days, but there was hardly any immediate end to it, leading to damage to the entire lot of the fresh fruit from the valley," said Bashir Ahmad, President of Fruit Mandi, Parimpora, Srinagar.
Ahmad, who also chairs the Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers cum Dealers Union, said most of the damaged fruit was the Gala variety grown under high-density systems, along with pears and peaches. "The unusual highway blockade led to losses to all the growers, buyers from outside, and traders, who had already paid advance money to procure the fruit," he said.
Kashmir's apple production averages 2 to 2.2 million metric tons annually and was expected to reach 2.5 million tons this year. Orchards cover around 172,000 hectares, or 78 percent of India's total apple area, with 1,000 to 3,000 hectares under high-density systems.
Kashmir produces varieties such as Kulu Delicious, Kinor, Jonthon, Maharaji, and Ambri types, while Himachal Pradesh supplies Royal Delicious, Dark Baron Gala, Scarlet Spur, Red Velox, and Golden Delicious.
Prices are highest in August and September but drop once Kashmir's larger crop enters the market. "Between November and January, around 2,500 trucks arrive in the city from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir," the market official added. Each truck carries 600 to 1,000 boxes containing 50 to 180 apples, with retail prices averaging about US$0.18 per apple.
Source 1: AWAZ
Source 2: Telangana Today
