Prolonged curfew spoils Rs 100 Cr apple in Shopian. The prolonged 14-day curfew in Shopian has dealt a severe blow to the apple trade with growers claiming that fruit worth Rs 100 crore have been spoilt. According to the traders, fruit mainly apple worth Rs 35 lakhs was thrown away which were rotten as they were not traded during the curfew days. Shopian district has been under curfew since September 7 after locals protested the killings of five persons in a CRPF firing. Horticulture, comprising mostly of apple, is considered as the backbone of the J&K economy and Shopian is second largest fruit producing district in the state. However, the perpetual curfew and restrictions has spoilt the apples in the district where around 22000 families are directly involved with the trade. Mohammad Amin Mir, President Apple Growers and Dealers Association, Shopian (AGDA) said the trade has suffered a loss of Rs 100 crore during the last two weeks as fruit market (Mandi) has remained closed due to continuous restrictions by the state government. “We supply around 80 to 100 truckloads of apple to other states in the peak season. But, this season due to the curfew, fruit remained in orchards or in Mandis. We could not export our produce,” Mir said. He said the growers were not able to harvest the crop for last two weeks due to restrictions. “This time, we usually pluck the fruits from the orchards and start exporting. But we are unable to move out from our houses and go into the orchards,” Mir said. Mir said that thousands of fruit boxes worth crores of rupees lying in the Mandi from last one week have rotted completely. Known for its most famed apple varieties-Delicious, Kullu delicious and Kinnor- Shopian is among the major contributors to the Rs 4,000 crore apple industries in the Valley. This year the Mandi has done business of Rs 87 crores so far which was expected to cross Rs 700 crore by the end of this year. However, the growers said that continuous curfew has been a major setback in achieving target. Last year, the Mandi witnessed a turnover of Rs 723 crore. General Secretary of AGDA of Shopian Farooq Malik said that the traders of Shopian have suffered heavy economic lose due to continuous restriction. “We dumped apples worth of Rs 35 lakh in a single day as all the apples were damaged when we reached to the Mandi after the curfew was relaxed couple of days back,” Malik said. “It is the season when we have to harvest fruit in our orchards but due to the continuous curfew we are confined to our houses.” The local grower said that the curfew during the peak season has pushed us to wall. “It is a peak time for apple harvesting. Apple crop is ready to be plucked and exported but consistent curfew has left the fruit to rot,” Abdul Shakoor Wani, one of the apple growers form Shopian said. Wani said that the buyers from outside the state were regularly asking for the supply of the apple. He said that 30% of apples lying in the orchards are completely damaged that has to be either thrown away or fed to animals.
Posted on: Sat, 21 Sep 2013 04:34:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015