Srinagar: Last summer, Mohammad Akbar Dar of Baramulla stored a major proportion of his apple produce in a cold store with an intention to sell it in winter for better returns.
Come December, all his dreams came crashing down when cheaper apple varieties from Iran flooded Indian markets. The 60-year-old farmer had paid a hefty sum to the cold chain owner for storing apples. But now he is staring at a huge loss.
“I have some 5000 boxes stored in the cold house. My 8,000 boxes are ready to be shipped to New Delhi’s Azadpur fruit mandi. Due to the low rates, I am not able to ship my produce. There is a chance of huge loss due to bulk Iranian apple import,” Dar said.
As per the Kashmir Fruit Growers Cum Dealers Union, the rates of Kashmir apples have dropped almost 50 percent during the last two months due to the influx of Iranian apples.
“A premiere quality apple box was sold at Rs 1200-1300 in October. Now the same box sells at Rs 600-700. Plus freight charges are adding to the loss,” President Kashmir Fruit Growers Cum Dealers Union Bashir Ahmad Basheer told The Kashmir Monitor.
He said there is zero import duty on Iranian apples which has hit the Kashmiri produce.
“We even appealed to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Divisional Commissioner to kindly intervene. Horticulture is the biggest industry of Kashmir and provides livelihood to a huge population,” Bashir said.
The growers have demanded a ban on the ‘illegal sale’ of Iranian apples in India. “The Iranian apple comes through Wagah border. Traders are using the Afghanistan route to ship the apple. Since India has a free trade agreement with Afghanistan. Iranian traders camouflage it as Afghan apples to avoid import duty. Iranian apples are being sold at Rs 40 per kilo,” said Mudasir Ahmad Bhat, who heads the Fruit Buyers and Forwarding Agents Union.
Bhat said that the Kashmir apple despite paying all the taxes is reaching the main markets at Rs 60 per kg. “This has hit our crop. We are losing Rs one to two lakh for every truckload due to rate variation,” he said.
Horticulture is the mainstay of Kashmir’s economy with seven lakh families directly and indirectly associated with the sector. Horticulture contributes eight percent to the Gross State Domestic Product of Jammu and Kashmir.
More than 3.38 lakh hectares of land are under fruit cultivation in the valley. Of which 1.62 lakh hectares are under apple cultivation.
Each year, around 1.5 to 2 lakh metric tons of apples are stored in cold stores across Kashmir in an effort to heap rich dividends during the off-season, especially March, April, and May when their market price soars.
Director Horticulture department Aijaz Ahmad Bhat told The Kashmir Monitor that they have taken up the issue with the administration.
“This thing (influx of Iranian apple) should not happen and we are with the growers. We took up the matter with the administration. We will do everything to safeguard the interest of the Kashmir apple industry,” he said.
