Apple production marginally higher

[Jaswinder Singh Baidwan]

With apple marketing season coming to an end and 3.22 crore standard boxes of apple having already been exported to different markets, the production this year is likely to be marginally higher than last year. However, the growers did not get commensurate returns.
So far 3.22 crore boxes had already been marketed and apple from some pockets in higher hills is still pouring into markets. The production may touch 3.50 crore boxes taking into account the apple purchased by government procurements agencies under market intervention scheme (MIS), said a senior official of state Horticulture Department.
The apple production was 3.13 crore boxes in 2014 and 3.69 crore boxes in 2013. The state recorded the highest production of 4.46 crore boxes in 2010. The apple crop this year was good but the growers did not get good returns as compared to last year as speculative reports about bumper crop with five to six crore boxes resulted in slump in the markets and growers suffered, said Prakash Thakur, Vice chairman of Himachal Pradesh Horticulture Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation (HPMC).
The royal and delicious verities fetched between Rs 1,200 and Rs 1300 per box due to slump during the peak season while the small size apple was sold for Rs 500 per box, which was much less than 2014 rates, he said.
Further, the increased volume of imported apple this year, which crossed 2-lakh metric tonnes last year, is also a reason for diminishing returns this year.