Favourable prices spur Kashmiri apple growers to sell their produce ahead of Ramadhan

Shopian, Feb 25: Favourable prices in wholesale markets outside Jammu and Kashmir are spurring apple cultivators and traders to sell their produce ahead of the holy month of Ramadhan.Last year, the stored crop suffered heavy losses as prices remained stagnant till April, forcing the apple growers to sell their harvest at cheap rates.According to apple growers, good market prices make them sell their produce stored in different Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storages across the Valley.Mohamad Ashraf Wani, President Fruit Mandi Shopian told Greater Kashmir that a 10 kg box of Delicious variety sells for Rs 950 to Rs 1000, while a 14 kg carton is priced between Rs 1400 to Rs 1500. He said that the prices in different Mandis remained favourable thus far.Many apple cultivators believe that the market has the potential to improve further.“But the farmers and traders are preferring to sell their produce before the temperature shoots up outside the Valley”, they said.At least one lakh metric tons of stored apples have been sold so far in various wholesale markets across the country.“Around 2 to 2.5 lakh metric tons of apples were stocked in various CA storages this year”, said Wani.According to official data, the estimated production for 2024-2025 was 20.3 lakh metric tons, similar to the output in 2023-2024.However, apple cultivators believe that the production was comparatively low due to drawn-out dry spell and erratic weather patterns from February 2024 to April 2024.“The production was at least 10 to 15 percent low due to unfavourable weather conditions during the ideal farming season”, said Mushtaq Ahmad , an orchardist from the apple rich district of Shopian.He, however, said that favourable prices helped farmers to make up the loss.From June 1, 2024 to September 25, 2024, Jammu and Kashmir witnessed 35 percent rainfall deficit with Shopian district experiencing 81 percent deficit. Compared to a normal precipitation of 542.7 mm, J&K recorded 352.7 mm. Such climatic changes led to a significant increase in pests like Leaf Miner, Green Aphid and Wooly Aphid.“These weather conditions also took a toll on the quality of fruit across all the apple-producing districts of Kashmir”, said Tariq Ahmad Mir, another apple grower.He said that the protracted dry spell also reduced the shelf life of the fruit. “We hope we receive adequate rainfall this season”, he added.