{"id":564,"date":"2025-10-04T20:24:24","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T20:24:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/?p=564"},"modified":"2025-10-04T20:24:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T20:24:24","slug":"apple-demand-hits-decade-low","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/2025\/10\/04\/apple-demand-hits-decade-low\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple demand hits decade-low"},"content":{"rendered":"

Price down by 70%: Growers<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jahangeer Ganaie<\/strong><\/p>\n

Srinagar, Oct 04:\u00a0<\/strong>The apple industry in Kashmir, considered the backbone of the region\u2019s economy, is witnessing one of its worst seasons in over a decade as prices have crashed by nearly 70 per cent and demand has hit rock bottom, according to growers.<\/p>\n

From Sopore to Shopian, Pulwama to Kulgam, growers said the situation has left them in despair, with many unable to even recover their basic production and packaging costs.<\/p>\n

Bashir Ahmad Basheer, president of the Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Cum Dealers Union, said the current market scenario has pushed the entire industry to the brink of collapse.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my entire life, I have never seen the demand for Kashmiri apples so low,\u201d Basheer said. \u201cGrowers are not even getting back what they have spent on producing and packing the fruit. The rates have fallen drastically\u2014by at least 70 per cent compared to last year. This is an alarming situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the rising cost of freight, packaging material, and labour has made matters worse.<\/p>\n

\u201cFreight charges continue to remain high as compared to last year,\u00a0 box rates have shot up, and labour is expensive\u2014but the rates offered in outside mandis are far below our cost price. The entire industry is bleeding,\u201d Basheer added.<\/p>\n

In Pulwama, one of south Kashmir\u2019s key apple-growing districts, orchardist Abdul Rashid Bhat said the prices offered this year are \u201cunbelievably low\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, I sold an apple box for Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,400. This year, I am being offered just Rs 300 to 400 for the same quality. It doesn\u2019t even cover the cost of plucking, grading, and packaging,\u201d he said. \u201cMany growers are thinking of not sending their produce outside at all because freight and other expenses themselves cost around Rs 300 to 400 per box.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similarly, in Shopian, known as the \u201capple bowl of Kashmir\u201d, growers say the situation is pushing them toward financial ruin.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur entire year\u2019s hard work has gone in vain,\u201d said Showkat Ahmad, a grower from the Keller area. \u201cThe apples are of good quality this season, but there is no demand in Delhi, Azadpur, or Chandigarh mandis. The market has completely crashed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growers have urged the government to step in urgently and safeguard the industry from further decline.<\/p>\n

They added that the current crisis is not just an economic concern but a livelihood issue for lakhs of families across Kashmir who depend directly or indirectly on the fruit sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government seems to be a mute spectator,\u201d he said. \u201cIf immediate measures are not taken, Kashmir\u2019s apple economy\u2014which contributed thousands of crores annually\u2014could face irreversible damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to official figures, apple cultivation provides direct or indirect employment to around 3.5 million people in Jammu and Kashmir. However, this year\u2019s market downturn has sparked growing fears of a deepening rural economic crisis\u2014(KNO)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Price down by 70%: Growers Jahangeer Ganaie Srinagar, Oct 04:\u00a0The apple industry in Kashmir, considered the backbone of the region\u2019s economy, is witnessing one of its worst seasons in over a decade as prices have crashed by nearly 70 per cent and demand has hit rock bottom, according to growers. From Sopore to Shopian, Pulwama […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=564"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":566,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564\/revisions\/566"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}