Apple: Production and Marketing

The government of India (GoI) has banned the import of apples from other countries where the Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF) import price is less than or equal to Rs 50 per kilogram.

The move is seen as a step towards safeguarding the interests of the apple growers in the country. The decision is expected to  benefit the apple farmers in Jammu and Kashmir also.

   

The traders here have expressed happiness over the GoI decision. The apple growers are having a difficult time for last several years due to various reasons.

Sometimes the production gets affected due to hostile weather conditions including cold, hailstorm or  snowfall in upper reaches, in May or November.

Last year the apple growers faced lot of problems. First they were not being offered good rates by the traders. The low rates of Kashmiri apples in outside markets were mentioned as the reason behind that.

Arrival of Iranian apples into markets outside gave a big setback to the rates of Kashmiri apples. The Iranian apples do not come directly from Iran but via Afghanistan, and is duty free.

There was a growing demand from apple traders to ban the import of Iranian apples via Afghanistan. Letters were also written to government of India by various trade bodies from here.

Traders are optimistic now that with the latest decision by Government of India, their concern will be addressed to some extent. Last year the delay in timely transportation of apples to outside markets also became a problem.

The fruit laden trucks remained held up at various places on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway for days together. The traffic officials said the trucks were being stopped due to repair work and rush of fruit trucks.

However, the issue was resolved after the intervention at the highest government level. Much to the relief of the people associated with apple production and trade, the government this year strictly directed that fruit trucks should not be stopped at the highway and be allowed to proceed towards their respective destinations.

With this direction the problems like that of last year cannot emerge now. Since lakhs of people are associated with apple production and business, the concerned departments must work out strategies on how to give boost to this trade.

Given the emerging tough competition in the markets, efforts should be made to make the quality of apples better while increasing the quantity also.

Reports indicate that at places outside J&K where apples are being produced, there is better coordination between the growers and officials of horticulture department. This coordination is seemingly not that effective here and needs to be strengthened for better results.

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