Kashmiri apples are red and sleek skinned. They are exceptionally famous for their red color and aroma .Apple needs a calm temperature as we observe in the Himalayan regions of India like Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh (Shimla). As being a grower myself I think it is the most sensitive fruit as it needs very gentle care. From the very beginning of its flowering in Kashmir apples are first sprayed with diesel and we just put some organic manure to the trees for their better production. Kashmiri apples are famous around the world for their tasty juice and colour. We Kashmiris are often called Kashmiri apples because of our complexion.
But a great concern felt now-a-days is the falling prices of the apples inside and outside the valley. As we know September and October are the months of harvesting the apples and the growers look cheerful to see their hard work has borne fruits but the plummeting prices has been the major concern to cause the stress to the growers. The import of Iranian and Turkish apples into the Indian market has set the alarm bells ringing among the local growers. The concern is how to store the apples which are getting wasted.
The falling price of Kashmiri apples in outside markets has made growers and traders worried as they fear huge losses if the current trend continues.
The traders say that during the early stage of the season, the demand and rates of apples used to be high, but this year the market is down by around 40 per cent.
There is minimal demand for Kashmiri apples from the markets across the country due to which the rates have plummeted. And add to this they are suffering losses as labour rate, transportation charges and prices of cardboard and wooden boxes are touching sky
On the other hand the orchardists have seen huge losses for the last three, four years. The competition is also growing among the growers as they introduce new
varieties of apples and think it will let them probably a new market which will be seen to provide them with sufficient rates.
The prices of Kashmiri apples has declined from Rs 1,200 per box to Rs 600-800, which will inflict huge losses on the growers. The production cost of one apple box is Rs 600. The GST has increased from 12 per cent to 18 per cent. Now, how can a grower sell his produce at such low rates?
The falling prices of apples has laid enormous stress on the farmers as they have taken huge loans from the bank which they are not able to pay now. they have none other option to save themselves from the falling rates/prices and thereby the call from the bank to pay their loans. Their mind is stuck between these two things leading them to end their life as mostly they have no other source of income to pay.
It’s such a shame that the vehicles carrying the fruits are being retained for hours for no reason resulting in damage to the items. This is absolute injustice with the growers who have given their entire life to the industry.
The farmers have recently submitted a memorandum to the governor of UT (J&K) on the sad plight of roads, increased transport tariffs, shortage of labour,but the government has turned its deaf ears towards it.It is totally simple that the rates will only increase when the demand is high. If Kashmiri apples are exported to other countries as we know a huge quantity of apples was produced this year , it might increase the rates so that the growers will get some relief and will go for more and more cultivation. The growers are now shifting from the most famous Kashmiri delicious apples to Italian apples as their demand is comparatively higher, but it is obvious that once its concentration in the Indian market increases, it will create the same issue to the growers again.

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