SHIMLA: The apple economy in Himachal Pradesh, which is almost worth Rs 5,000 crore, seems to be in crisis, as apple markets have crashed and the prices slashed half at the beginning of the apple season. The disappointed growers complain that the prices of apples in the Mandis are at their lowest level in 15 years. The prices of apples are fixed under the towel by illegal and unethical methods, the disillusioned growers rue.
Apple prices have reduced by Rs 800 to Rs 1200 per box in the past two weeks in the wholesale markets of the state. Some brokers are deducting 2.50 per cent or above in the name of bank charges from the apple growers.
Two weeks back, the best-considered quality Royal apple was fetching up to Rs 3000 per box. Now the prices of the same have fallen to Rs 2000 per box, the average falling to the rates Rs 1200 to Rs 1500.
This has caused a sharp decline in all varieties of apple in all Mandis, due to which the growers are facing huge losses, as the stakeholders have to spend Rs 300 to 400 per box for plucking, grading, packing, washing, transportation till the box reaches the market. Similarly, thousands of Rupees are spent on fertilizers, sprays and daily wages every year. The subsidy on all fertilizers, pesticides and packing material was already abolished by the government, said a source.
In a nutshell, the price crash hits growers on multiple fronts— first, due to heavy cost inputs
The horticulture department has estimated over and around four crore apple boxes to hit the markets this year, as soon as the picking up gets momentum in the state the prices are expected to drop, a slump to continuously fluctuate the market.
The growers of the upper Shimla region complain that they are not being heard anywhere. The apple markets are working in a monopolistic manner and the producers are at the receiving end.
“The buyers and traders dictate the terms and manipulate the market. The quality, size and packaging are not considered in most of the markets; it is all pre-set and monopolized,” an apple grower based in Shimla told The Daily Guardian.
“Sometimes it takes 10 to 12 hours to unload the apple carts in the Mandis. Due to this, we are forced to pay transporters double the freight. The roads are in bad shape or there is chaos in the Mandis, it is only the growers who have to suffer,” he added.
Similarly, in other Mandis also, a cost of two rupees per box, sometimes four, five rupees is being charged from the growers. In some Mandis, the growers are being ‘cheated’ due to the non-practices of open and competitive bidding in the business.
Speaking to The Daily Guardian, Harish Chauhan, an apple grower and the president of Himachal Fruit, Vegetable and Flower Growers Association, suggested that the best solution to the continuous falling prices in the apple markets lies in the government.