Wet December gives hope to apple growers in Shimla

Fruit growers, the apple growers in particular, have heaved a huge sigh of relief this December. Unlike the last few years when December went completely dry, this time there has been significant snowfall and rainfall in the apple growing areas. “It has broken a streak of dry Decembers that was firming up into a trend. It’s great news for the fruit growers as precipitation in December and January is so important to have a good crop,” explained an apple grower.

Due to the weather that had been quite erratic over the last few years - dry and hot winters, early or extended rains – the apple production took a severe hit. For the last two years, the apple production has been just a little over two crore boxes, one of the lowest over the last 15 years. Aging trees are another reason behind the declining production even as land under apple cultivation has been constantly increasing.

Apart from weather showing signs of returning to the normal snow cycle, the other big development for the growers this year was introduction of universal carton for the packaging of apple. The single-piece box replaced the flexible telescopic carton to cap the fruit weight at 22-24 kg per box. The two-piece telescopic carton could be maneuvered to pack in as much as 34-35 kg fruit, resulting in losses to the growers, especially the small and marginal growers. The decision needs better implementation as some growers, when the market crashed in September, started packing up to 27-28 kg fruit in the box.

Meanwhile, the World Bank-aided Himachal Pradesh Horticulture Development Project concluded this year, and the government has expressed interest in having another similar project from the World Bank. Under the project, quality planting material for apple and stone fruits has been imported and now it’s being propagated in the state. Besides, HPMC has built and refurbished its CA stores, grading and pacing lines and market yards through the funds received from the project. A state of the art fruit processing plant has been built at Parala, which became fully functional this year and HPMC managed to produce record apple juice concentrate.

Besides, the Asian Development Bank-aided HP-Shiva project has also kicked off to promote the cultivation of tropical fruits in lower parts of the state. Under this project worth over Rs 1,200 crore, around 6000 hectares would be brought under the cultivation of tropical fruits like mango, citrus fruits, guava, etc., in 28 development blocks of Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Sirmaur, Solan and Una. It would benefit round 15,000 horticultural families.

Meanwhile, the growers continued to face extreme price fluctuation this year as well. While the season opened with unrealistic prices of around and even over Rs 5000 per box, the markets crashed in September and the growers got Rs 1200-1600 per box for quality fruit. Besides, the cheap import, mainly from Iran, continued to pose a massive challenge for the local produce. The Centre is yet to respond to the growers demand for raising the import duty and minimum import price for apple to provide a level playing field for the local growers.