Himachal apple growers scout for online buyers

Few buyers are keen on purchasing the fruit, many prefer apples grown in higher altitudes

With the apple economy in doldrums amid the coronavirus crisis, Himachal orchardists are scouting for online buyers.

Apple growers say this harvest season was one of the toughest seen. (HT File Photo)

Orchardists had to grapple with issues such as acute labour shortage and transportation difficulties this season. The produce was also leaner as compared to previous years.

Labourers from Nepal form a major chunk of the workforce in apple growing areas. But this year due to travel restrictions imposed to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, Nepalese labourers could not return.

There are 40,000 Nepalese labourers registered with the government. The Nepalese workforce is primarily concentrated in the Shimla-Kullu-Kinnaur belt, a major apple-growing areas in the state. The Nepalese labourers are also scattered in areas where hydel projects are located. After Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal is the second-highest apple-producing state in the country. More than two-thirds of the market is captured by apples from Kashmir, while Himachal apple has a 20% share.

Apple growers say this harvest season was one of the toughest seen. Farmers are trying hard to rope in local labourers besides arranging labourers from Motihari in Bihar and Lakhinpur kiri in Uttar Pradesh.

“ My seasonal labourers are struck in Nepal. I have made several attempts to get them over to India but the Nepalese government has imposed strict restrictions and are a not allowing them to cross the border in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. I had to arrange labour from Sirmaur district,“ says Naresh Chauhan an apple grower from Dhraonk village in Kotkhai . Like many others, Chauhan has also set up his own grading unit for sorting apples .

‘NOT MANY BUYERS INTERESTED’

“ I have tried to contact many online buyers to purchase apples but they have not shown much interest,” says Raman Prakash an apple grower in Kotgarh region, which is known for its quality apple produce.

Labour shortage has also forced the apple growers to shell out more money to pay the daily wages . The daily wages during the apple season vary from ₹400-₹500 per day. However, areas facing labour shortage are having to pay more. Many areas facing labour shortage have jacked up the rates and apple owners are paying upto ₹800 per day.

Apple harvest is gradually picking up and the labour problem is likely to get more acute in the coming days. Also, not many bulk buyers from outside the sate have shown interest in purchasing apples . “So far, 1.25 lakh apples have been transported outside the state, the transportation will go up in the coming days,” says Naresh Thakur managing director Agro Produce Marketing Corporation ( APMC). Then horticulture department is projecting estimates of ₹2.5 crore apple boxes but growers say the crop is lean this time .

Retail stores such as Walmart, Reliance and Big Basket who have shown interest in purchasing the apples have not yet not started their operations in Himachal. Also, the big stores are only interested in purchasing apples from higher-altitude regions.

The apple economy in Himachal Pradesh is a ₹5,000 crore economy and the more than 1.65 lakh families in Himachal are only dependent on apples for their livelihood.