Kashmiri apple trade faces disaster amid lockdown

Srinagar: On the morning of November 4, 2018, Mushtaq Ahmed Bhat was shattered when he walked across his apple orchards to find that heavy snowfall had damaged his crop completely. So much snow had accumulated that the apple-laden branches had just crumbled.

An apple trader based in Sopore, Mr Bhat and his family were still recovering from last year’s losses when heavy rains and hailstorm once again spelled disaster for the apple industry in April this year.

Like thousands of families dependent on the apple trade, the Bhat family was looking forward for September, when apples are ready to harvest and  transported to the markets. They are keeping their fingers crossed.

With the scrapping of Article 370 leading to a complete lockdown of the Kashmir Valley, the apple traders are once again on tenterhooks, staring at what possibly could be another disastrous season.

“Since the movement of people and vehicles is restricted and there is no communication, all normal businesses, including the apple industry, are already in a crisis. The apple season starts in September and it looks like this time around, it is not the weather but the man-made situation that will spell disaster for the  industry,” said Mr Maqbool Ahmed, an apple trader in Srinagar and a partner of Mr Bhat.

“If the lockdown continues, we will suffer massive losses. In case the lockdown is eased, there is an anticipation of large-scale violence which is bound to hit the industry,” he said. The two friends started the apple trade about six years ago and have invested huge money.

According to estimates, the snowfall in November last year had caused losses to the tune of about Rs 500 crore while the hailstorms this year wreaked havoc for apple growers. “If the industry is hit this time around, it will be impossible for many of us to sustain and continue in the trade,” they say.

Nearly 67 per cent of people in Kashmir are dependent on apple production. On an average, the apple production in Kashmir Valley is about 17 lakh metric tonnes per year.

As per one survey in 2017, apples worth Rs 6,500 crore are exported from Kashmir, if the weather does not play a spoiler and the law and order situation remains normal. The apple crop alone generates Rs 7,000 crore turnover in the Valley.

In Kashmir, about 2.4 lakh hectares is under fruit cultivation, of which about 66 per cent comprises apple orchards spread across the districts of Shopian, Baramulla, Anantnag and others.

“About 25 lakh people are directly or indirectly involved in the apple trade and our apples are supplied all over the country. This time around, the prospects look bleak due to the lockdown,” adds Javed, who reminds that even the September 2014 floods hit the fruit production badly.

The traders say if there is no easing in the movement of people and vehicles, there is every possibility of apples getting rotten.