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Fruit growers in Valley fear Covid-19 could play spoilsport
Last year, due to the abrogation of Article 370 followed by strict curfew, fruit growers had suffered huge losses.
With the first batch of apples ready to arrive in the markets, fruit growers in the Kashmir valley fear Covid-19 could play spoilsport for the industry.
Next month, different varieties of Pears, which are considered high value fruit and have a less shelf life, will be ready for harvest. The growers claim that Cherry which is considered the season’s first crop did not fetch money as the dealers who used to make bulk purchases for canning purposes did not turn up in the local mandies.
Last year, due to the abrogation of Article 370 followed by strict curfew, fruit growers had suffered huge losses. This time, growers and commission agents are a worried lot due to the restrictions in wake of Covid-19 even though horticulture activities are exempted from the lockdown.
President of Fruit Growers Association Parimpora, Bashir Ahmad Bhat, said at present 10 to 20 trucks of early fruit varieties like Bulgarian arrive in the markets, which are consumed locally and only a dozen trucks are dispatched outside the mandies everyday. “From August last year, the growers have suffered huge losses—first due to curfew after abrogation of Article 370 and then the lockdown imposed in wake of Covid-19,” he said.
Bhat said even growers who had kept the apples in cold storage with a hope that the markets will fetch them a good price, could hardly make any profits. “This year’s Cherry and Plum crop also did not fetch good prices,” he added.
Another grower, Irshad Ahmad, who owns a shop in the fruit mandi at Sopore said they are still hopeful that the markets will get stabilised. “Last year was full of miseries, though we hope things will get better. The mandi is open but the hectic business will pick up only next month onwards,” he said.
Ahmad said, “The commission agents from outside who used to make bulk purchases will prefer to stay away from the mandi due to Covid-19. Last year was not good for us and this year too if growers suffer losses, then they won’t be able to repay bank loans.”
Adil Malik, a fruit grower from Rafiabad, said fruit is the backbone of Jammu and Kashmir’s economy but growers are a dejected lot. “Last year, it was the economic loss and this year it is this deadly disease and shortage of labour among other things which are worrying factors. As a grower, we have already spent money on pesticides and upkeep of the orchards. We don’t know how it will be in the markets,” he said, adding that the government should come to the rescue of the growers and announce some supportive prices.
Around 2.5 million people are directly or indirectly associated with the fruit trade in Kashmir, which fetches around Rs 10,000 crore. The Sopore mandi alone deals with more than 2.5 crore fruit boxes and is considered India’s second largest fruit mandi.
Sopore fruit mandi manager said the mandi opens in the morning for a few hours and gets closed due to fresh lockdown restrictions. “The fruit in bulk will start arriving next month and it is then that we will be in a position to say something.”
