As covid19 has taken a toll on Kashmir’s cherry market, Valley’s largest fruit traders’ association on Wednesday asked growers to “destroy” the “double gilaas” variety saying there were no takers for it.
The double cherry variety locally known as ‘double gilaas’, is mostly used by the food processing industry to make canned cherry in Kashmir and rest of the country as well.
However, New Kashmir Fruit Association based at Fruit Mandi Parimpora here in its communication to the cherry growers asked them to stop supplies of double cherry to the local mandis as stocks were piling-up and suggested them to rather destroy the variety in the orchards itself.
Speaking with Greater Kashmir, president New Kashmir Fruit Association, Basheer Ahmad Bashir said cherry growers across the Valley were being “apprised about challenges being faced in marketing of double cherry”, due to closure of outside mandis and canning units owing to Covid-19.
“We have issued the SOS on social media and print media as well. There are several issues in marketing of the double cherry this year. Out of the 22 canning units in the Valley, only two to three have resumed work and are procuring cherry; the demand outside is negligible,” Bashir said.
Bashir said only 5 to 10 per cent of the supplies of double cherry received at the Parimpora Mandi were being procured by the canning units. He said of the total 11,000 to 13,000 MT cherry produced in Kashmir annually, ‘double gilaas’ contributed almost 5,000 MT.
“A box of double cherry is fetching only Rs 20 to Rs 30 which is even less than its production cost. So we have urged the growers to stop supplies of double gilaas and only supply mishri and makhmali varieties also known as number 1 cherry,” Bashir said.
He said despite their appeal, the government did not provide minimum support price (MSP) for the cherry, which has forced them to take to the “extreme measure” of asking growers to destroy the crop in their orchards.
As per official data, Kashmir cherry has a whopping Rs 160 crore market with almost 90 per cent of its produce going to different parts of the country. Ganderbal with 1078 hectare of land under it, is the hub of cherry production in Kashmir, followed by Shopian with 608 hectares.
Cherry traders and growers said the yield this season seems “to be on the lower side” due to frequent inclement weather including hailstorm. “The demand for cherry is quite low. Local consumption does not match the production. The losses are quite heavy,” said Farooq Ahmad, a grower from Shopian.
The growers said that apart from no demand for double cherry, export of makhmali and mishri varieties has also been hit due to closure of mandis in Mumbai and Bengaluru.
The traders said in previous years, 30,000 one kilogram packs of cherry were being air-lifted from the Valley on a daily basis which is missing this year due to Covid pandemic lockdown. “From Parimpora Mandi about 166 MT of cherry have been dispatched to outside markets so far but now the export has declined,” said a trader.
“Last year 15-20 truckloads of cherry would be transported daily which has come down to 6-8 truckloads this year,” the traders said.
When contacted, Director Horticulture, Ajaz Ahmad Bhat said all possible efforts were being made to ensure that cherry growers don’t suffer. “We have asked the canning units to resume production by following all SOPs and Covid guidelines. We held a meeting with the growers today and are finding ways to help them out,” Bhat said.