Kashmir blushes red with bumper apple crop
In the early hours everyday, pickup trucks, tractors, small vans and horse carts loaded with fruit boxes head towards Mazbough village in Sopore where Asia's second largest mandi is located.
The back to back rainfall in July has given growers a good hope for not only bumper fruit crops but also best quality apples. As per data of meteorological department, Kashmir has received normal to excess rainfall especially in the belts producing quality apples.
The July month is considered a very important time for fruit development, the rainfall has not only given magnificent colour to different early varieties of apples but has also ripened the harvest. 'When there was a heatwave in June we were staring at a very messy situation. But we were hopeful after the first rainfall and were expecting a bumper crop. Across Kashmir apple orchards have good fruit even the high density apples have good yield this season,' said Sahib Ahmad Khan who owns several orchards in north Kashmir. He said right now, besides two to three early varieties like Hazratbali and red delicious apples, three to four varieties of high density apples, are also being harvested across Kashmir. 'Right from the start the market locally as well outside mandies is very good,' he said.
Sopore fruit mandi president Fayaz Ahmad Malik said that 40 to 50 apple trucks are being loaded from the mandi every day. 'Even dozens of trucks are also being dispatched from other mandies of the Valley. So far the market is good and it's because the fruit quality is good due to timely rainfall,' he said adding that now with every passing day more and more trucks will arrive in the mandies and by next month 300 to 400 fruit trucks will be dispatched across the country. 'We hope this year growers will make good profit.'
Kashmir is India's largest apple-producing region, fetching revenue of over ₹8,000 to ₹10,000 crore to the Union territory, and contributing around 8-10% of its gross domestic product. The UT produces around 20 lakh metric tonnes of apples per year. Around seven lakh farming families (approximately 35 lakh people) are directly or indirectly associated with the horticulture sector. 'The season has already started. First it was stone fruits and cherries, now different apple varieties are arriving in the mandis. The markets are promising and prospects also look good. Hopefully things will remain the same incoming months,' said Javeed Ahmad Dar, a grower from south Kashmir.
This year stone fruit and cherries also fetched good prices despite early spring weather vagaries.
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