Apple trading declines by up to 60 per cent in Solan

Ambika Sharma
Tribune News Service
Solan, August 7

Marred by the vagaries of weather and disease, the apple trade in Solan district has reduced by about 40 to 60 per cent this year.

Apples are generally traded from July till September every year. The Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) at Solan and the terminal market at Parwanoo are among the major apple selling points for orchardists from Shimla, Sirmaur and Kinnaur districts.

The data secured from the terminal apple mandi at Parwanoo reveal that compared to 4,20,974 boxes of apple sold from July 5 to August 6 last year, only 1,67,610 boxes were sold from July 4 to August 6 this year. Similarly, against 250,628 boxes of apple sold between June 27 and August 6 last year through the APMC, Solan, only 1,07,520 apple boxes were sold from June 29 to August 6 this year.

The prices of apple have, however, increased marginally, giving some relief to the growers, though the opening price was much below the expected price.

“As against the prices between Rs 300 and Rs 2,800 per box available at Parwanoo last year, apples this year have been sold at prices between Rs 200 and Rs 3,650 per box. In Solan, as against the prices ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 2,600 per box last year, the growers have sold their produce for prices between Rs 200 and Rs 3,400 per box this year,” said Ravinder Kumar, Secretary, APMC, Solan.

Prakash Chand, a grower from Jubbal, said, “The quantum of fruit has reduced considerably due to adverse weather conditions such as hailstones and diseases like fall leaf and scab.”

He added, “The Covid scare has added to our woes as the growers are trying to sell their fruit crop through local commission agents at whatever price available. The fear of the entire crop getting destroyed if a grower tests Covid-positive is also a major deterrent to going to Chandigarh and other states where higher apple prices can be obtained.”

“Earlier commission agents used to approach the growers on their own but many of them are now operating through local agents. The sales through local agents have also delayed payments and there is little charm of the apple season this time,” said Govind Thakur, another farmer. As the number of coronavirus cases is constantly rising in Solan, Parwanoo and Shimla, the growers feel that the sale of apples poses a tremendous risk.