2.08 crore apple boxes marketed this season

Apple production this year is likely to be more or less the same as last year. As the apple season nears its end, around 2.08 crore boxes have been marketed so far in APMC markets yards and outside.

“The season is almost over. We are now getting just around 10,000 boxes a day from Shimla district. It will also stop in the next few days,” says Hemis Negi, MD, HP State Agriculture Marketing Board. Last year, around 2.11 crore boxes were marketed.

As per the date shared by the marketing board, around 1.16 crore boxes have been sold in the HPMC mandis while over 88 lakh boxes were sold outside the mandis.

It’s the second year running when apple production has been lower than normal. Just like the previous year, the total production, including the apple procured through the MIS and stored in CA stores, is likely to be around five lakh metric tonnes, which is lower than the normal yield.

Horticulture Department officials attribute the low production to unfavourable weather conditions. “There wasn’t much snowfall during the winter and as a result, the plants did not get the required chilling hours. It affected the overall production of apple,” says a horticulture official.

He adds that a majority of the orchards are getting old and are not producing as much fruit as they did in their prime. “People are shifting to high density plantation but it will take a few years to show its impact on overall production,” he says.