Shimla, September 9
With apple harvesting having peaked and more than half the crop sent off to markets, there are firm indications that Himachal’s produce this season will be about 30 per cent less.

The crop is yet to be harvested in Kinnaur and the higher reaches of Shimla and Kullu districts, but reports indicate that not much fruit is left in orchards.

The state’s total produce is likely to hover around 2 crore boxes this year as against the estimate of 2.65 crore boxes. So far, 1.03 crore boxes have been sent off to markets.

With around 3.25 lakh boxes being sent out every day, some 22,765 apple trucks have ferried the produce to various markets.

In 2010, when the state had a record apple output of 4.46 crore boxes, 2.07 crore boxes had been sent during the corresponding period.

Last year, when Himachal recorded a lean crop of 1.37 crore boxes, about 80 lakh boxes were sent during the corresponding period.

As the final figures are worked out after adding 10 per cent to account for consumption within the state, comparison with the last two years indicates a total produce of around 2 crore boxes this year.

The produce in Kinnaur, where the bulk of the crop is yet to be harvested, is likely to hover between 20 and 22 lakh boxes. Himalayan Apple Growers’ Society chairman Rajeev Chauhan, who has orchards in the mid-hills and the higher reaches, says the number of apple trucks going out of the state would start declining in around 10 days.

“The protracted dry spell followed by incessant rain affected the crop. Fruit size did not increase due to inadequate moisture in the soil. Continuous heavy rain during the second half of the monsoon caused heavy dropping,” says Ranjeet Mehta, who has orchards in Kotgarh.

The Delhi market, which plummeted around Eid when prices came down from 
Rs 3,500 per box to Rs 1,000 per box has stabilised. The average price has increased to Rs 1,500 a box, with good quality apple being sold at Rs 1,800 a box. Seeing high prices initially, apple growers had sent off the produce to the market in a hurry.