Apple farmers of HP, J&K, Uttarakhand to tap Kerala market via co-operatives

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Apple farmers have reached out to the Kerala Chief Minister for logistics support in bringing the produce to the southern State in minimum duration as part of efforts to be competitive amid challenges posed by imported fruits.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has assured them of all possible assistance from the State government and suggested the farmers to further discuss the issue with the State’s co-operative minister with a detailed project report.

A delegation of the Apple Farmers’ Federation of India (AFFI), met Vijayan in New Delhi on August 5 and discussed possibilities of developing marketing network in Kerala through the co-operatives to help farmers in Jammu Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand get remunerative prices, according to a statement by the farmer organisation.

AFFI has been helping apple farmers on issues like raising productivity, quality through the adoption of technology and also on marketing strategy by reaching out directly to consumers. The farmer body has been organising farmers through co-operatives so that they develop alternative markets and come out of distress sales. Apple trade is largely dominated by traders, commission agents, cold stores and private companies who try to bring down the prices in the harvesting period so that the fruit gets sold at a big margin in the off-season, AFFI leaders said.

Duty cut

Claiming that apple farmers are in a crisis as the cost of production has increased many fold and the returns to the farmers are declining, AFFI said that in such a time the government recently slashed import duty from 70 per cent to 50 per cent. This may result in higher import of American apples, it said.

The delegation of AFFI sought to know from the chief minister how the State government can help the apple farmers’ co-operatives to directly reach out to the consumers. Vijayan was also informed that through the railway network, apples can be transported from Chandigarh to Kochi in 48 hours and if the Kerala’s co-operatives provide assistance, apples can further be distributed in the State in another 24-36 hours everywhere, a leader said.

Currently, apple prices in agri market yards in Kerala rule in the range of ₹95-260 per kg whereas in Himachal Pradesh rates are ₹60-130 per kg, according to the Agmarknet portal.a There is a minimum price difference of ₹50/kg between the two States which can be partially shared between farmers and consumers if logistics issues are addressed via the government subsidy.