As Prices Go Down, Kashmiri Apples Fall on the Ground; Growers Lose Profits

Apple growers are incurring huge losses due to falling prices of Kashmiri apples. Farmers this season are upset after they failed to recover their production costs from the market. They believe that the rate of apples has constantly been falling since the slowdown that hit the apple industry in 2012. The import of Iranian and Turkish apples into the Indian market has set alarm bells ringing among the local apple growers here. Not only are the prices of Kashmiri apples falling, but there are also issues concerning storage and wastage as well. According to orchardists and growers, they have been bearing enormous losses for the last two years. They also allude to the steep rise in labour rates, pesticides, fertilisers, packing costs etc. Traders are also aghast at undue restrictions on the movement of apple-laden trucks on Srinagar-Jammu highway, thus causing unwanted delay in delivery.