Himachal dumps one-third of 98K MT procured apple, here's why

“A record 98,000 MT apple was procured under the MIS in 2025, but nearly 30,000 MT had to be destroyed as Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation (HPMC) could not lift the fruit in time due to broken and damaged roads,” said Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi. The order to destroy the procured fruit, piled up in huge heaps along the roads at various places, was issued when the fruit started to rot.

The HPMC either processes or auctions the culled apple bought under the MIS at the rate of Rs 12 per kg. The culled apple are often small, damaged or imperfect. Having had to destroy such a huge quantity of the fruit, the HPMC is staring at huge losses and the apple growers are worried about their payment. While assuring that the payments would be made, the minister pointed out that the entire burden of the MIS had now come on the state. “The Centre has effectively pulled out of the scheme. Earlier, the losses suffered under the scheme were shared between the Centre and the state government. But since 2023, the Centre is hardly allocating any budget for the scheme,” said Negi.

To the apple growers facing rising input costs, plunging profit margins, erratic weather and challenges from imported fruit, the MIS offers some breathing space. “Every grower harvests a significant amount of culled apple. If this scheme collapses, the growers will sink deeper into trouble,” said Harish Chauhan, convener of the Sanyukt Kisan Manch. “Strengthening the fruit processing facilities in the state is one way of keeping the scheme profitable for the growers as well as the government,” said Chauhan. Others feel the MIS needs massive reforms to root out the alleged corruption to stay afloat.