Srinagar, Oct 5: The Kashmir Valley’s first apple crop harvest has begun. Apple farmers and other apple industry stakeholders are hopeful that this season’s Grade ‘A’ Gala Mast apple variety, which grows in the high-density apple orchards of the region, especially in Kupwara and Shopian districts, will deliver high returns.
But they have also expressed apprehension over the growing demand and competitions from apple produce exported from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and have appealed to buyers to save the domestic apple industry from potential collapse.
Brighter Kashmir spoke to a couple of local apple stakeholders to get a sense of the prevailing situation in the industry.
One apple grower, Abdul Majid Dar from Shopian district, said: “This year our apple produce is on the lower side. No one here in Shopian is ready to buy our apples. They prefer to buy apples exported from far off places like Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). As Indians, why do we need to buy from outside? Our local apple industry is suffering and our workforce has to go out of Kashmir to other states in India to earn a living as they are finding it very difficult to make a living here in Kashmir.”
Dar further said: “It is wrong to say that our apples have fungus. It is not true at all. I appeal to the government to take steps to protect the local apple industry and help all stakeholders. They must put a stop to apple exports if they want the Kashmir apple industry to survive. The exported apples are affecting the sales of our Kashmiri range of apples like the popular Gala Mast variety. Buying local is the need of the hour.
Another person involved with the packaging of Kashmiri apples said: “These days local workers in Kashmir are losing interest in doing this kind of work because of poor pay and other factors. We are forced to recruit workers from other states as we cannot afford to let the apple packaging industry collapse. It is our livelihood. The complaint that we get often for our machine-based packing operations is that local people are not ready to do this job. We have to recruit from outside to do this job as they apply themselves very seriously to their jobs and duties, whereas the Kashmiri employees are lethargic and take things easy. The result is that Kashmiris lose out and are not able to make ends meet. If this continues, local Kashmiris will lose their livelihood.”
He further said: “The government has caused a problem for us by encouraging the entry of exported apples into the domestic market. This is one of the reasons why the local apple industry is suffering poor sales. In our unit we have at least 80 people working at present. As the harvest season progresses, we see the involvement of about 150 people. In our unit, we have apple washing and drying facilities, besides arrangements for packing. We do traditional packing as well carton box-based packing. We have hi-tech apple grading machines to do our box packing
The high-density apple plantation is of different varieties. They include the Gala, the King Roat and other new varieties.
Apple auctions are also organised for fruit growers and bidders. The state horticulture department provides the necessary literature and other information on the apples that are being harvested. The apple harvest season begins normally in August and lasts up to November.
Apple farming is a high income return for the J&K economy and the region’s Department of Horticulture continuously comes out with new initiatives to help apple farmers. This includes the high density plantation scheme, which was introduced in 2021 and is expected to last till March 2026.