SRINAGAR: Controlled Atmosphere (CA) cold storage units continue to play a crucial role in sustaining Kashmir’s horticulture economy, with nearly 15 per cent of apple produce still stored across various cold storage facilities in the Valley as growers wait for favourable market conditions.
Fruit growers said that despite fluctuations in rates over the past few months, the decision to store apples instead of selling them during the peak harvest season has largely proved beneficial. However, they expressed concern over the unusually high percentage of B and C grade apples this year, which affected their overall returns.
According to growers, nearly 30 per cent of this season’s apple produce fell under B and C grade categories, reducing profit margins for orchardists. While A-grade apples continue to fetch encouraging prices in outside markets, lower-grade fruit has not generated the returns growers had expected.
Many orchardists said that during the harvesting season, market demand remained weak and prices were low, forcing them to shift their produce to cold storage units in the hope of securing better returns later.
A grower from Shopian said that A-grade apples are still receiving good prices in wholesale markets, but growers holding lower-grade fruit are struggling to recover production and storage costs. “The quality issue this year has impacted many orchardists. Premium fruit is doing well, but B and C grade apples are not fetching satisfactory rates,” he said.
Another orchardist from Pulwama said the availability of CA storage facilities has nevertheless protected growers from distress sales. “Had there been no cold storage units, many growers would have suffered huge losses during the peak season when markets were flooded,” he said. “At least now we have the flexibility to release produce gradually.”
President of the Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers and Dealers Union, Bashir Ahmad Basheer, said several factors contributed to the higher percentage of lower-grade apples this season.
“There are multiple reasons behind the increase in B and C grade apples this year,” Basheer said. “During the peak season, rates were very low, and growers rushed to cold storage facilities without properly sorting or checking their produce.”
He said that heavy pressure on storage infrastructure also created operational difficulties. “Vehicles carrying fruit had to wait for two to three days for unloading at several places. Besides that, many orchards were harvested earlier than the normal picking time, which affected fruit quality, and labourers were less in a few cold storage units,” he added.
Basheer further said that negligence by some storage operators also played a role. “A few cold storage owners accepted produce beyond their actual capacity, which affected proper management inside the units. There were also electricity-related issues at some facilities that impacted storage conditions,” he said.
Despite the challenges, growers believe CA storage facilities remain a lifeline for Kashmir’s apple industry by helping regulate market supply and preventing panic selling during the harvest period.
Experts from the horticulture sector said cold storage units have transformed the way growers market their produce. Instead of selling immediately after harvest at low prices, orchardists can now wait for demand to improve and sell their apples in phases.
Growers have also demanded expansion and modernization of cold storage infrastructure in remote fruit-growing areas, saying better facilities would reduce post-harvest losses and improve quality management.
“With proper infrastructure, timely power supply and better handling practices, growers can avoid quality deterioration and secure better returns,” growers said. (KNO)
