Trucks with Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh number plates and laden with apples can be seen making their way on the road to or from Kinnaur. The season is over in the rest of the state, but Kinnaur apples, which are plucked later due to the higher elevation, have 10-odd days still to go and continue to find their way to the market.
And right into the midst of the state’s bitter election season, where apples have emerged as a major issue.
Unlike the other apple belt around capital Shimla, the orchards here are spread over a large area. But despite a mandi in Kinnaur’s Tapri, the main market is still the capital city, 230 km away.
Recently, the farmers’ woes have been compounded by a double whammy of low prices and rising costs.
“Over the last 10 years, the prices have halved. And so much of our expense is just packaging (farmers have been protesting against 18% GST on packaging). Many people are selling portions of their orchards and moving to alternative methods of earning,” says Gyan Negi, who owns 3 acres of apple orchards near Kalpa.
Farmers say prices have gone up for everything from seeds, fertiliser, to even cow dung, even as cheap apples from countries such as Turkey have flooded the market, disrupting prices.
“The government has not been able to deliver on MSP, because of which apples from other states and countries are preventing them from getting the right rates,” says Sanjay Chauhan, co-convener of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, which led apple farmer protests last month.
Even the traders are affected. Meena (30), who hails from Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad, like many other traders here who belong to UP and Bihar, purchases apples from different farms in Kinnaur to sell in Reckong Pio and nearby places.
“An average 20 kg box of the Gala variety sold for Rs 2,000 some years back. Now the rate is Rs 1,200. We can barely make ends meet. Meanwhile, companies will sell this same apple at Rs 400 per kg because of the Kinnaur name,” says Meena, adding that she feels helpless, not knowing who to hold responsible.
Throughout the state, which is sustained to a large extent by its apple economy, the trade has taken a hit. The apple business’s total worth in Himachal is estimated at nearly Rs 6,000 crore, with at least 2 lakh families both directly and indirectly dependent on it. The dip has coincided with the slump in tourism, the other main revenue earner for Himachal, in the wake of Corona.
In August, apple farmers staged large demonstrations, with the authorities stationing water tanks and barriers to hold off farmers from marching to the Secretariat. A few weeks later, farmers burnt empty cartons as part of the agitation in Rohru.
The apple anger is likely to impact votes in at least 20 constituencies across the state. The key demands of the farmers include the implementation of APMC (agriculture produce marketing committee) rules and an MSP guarantee for apple procurement, apart from the abolition of GST on the packaging.
The BJP has promised to reduce GST on packaging to 12% and waiving off of any additional cess. The Congress, which has been an active participant in the protests, has promised a committee to decide the MSP issue.
Farmers also point figures at big players in the market, which includes Adani Agro Fresh. In 2020, some of them offered Rs 88 per kg for premium A-grade apples, they say. This year, the rate is Rs 76. Farmers say this too has pulled down the prices in the open market.
A farmer in Theog, Pankaj Thakur, says: “Apple production is an expensive affair, from maintenance of land to the purchase of input materials… If apples are sold for Rs 300 per kg in Delhi, the farmer ends up getting 1/5th that price. If the government does not intervene, many people will shift from farming.”
Officials say one reason for the low prices is the high production, with this season set to touch 8 lakh MT yield. This level was last seen back in 2010, when more than 8.92 lakh MT apples were produced. In comparison, 2020-2021 saw production of 4.8 lakh MT, and the year before that, around 6 lakh MT.
Farmers say the government should not put the onus on them for the situation. “It should not be our problem that we have a good produce. The government should have policies in place that stabilise market rates,” says Jasbir Chand (46), an apple farmer from Nichaad in Kinnaur.
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