An apple a day keeps the doctor away -- all those, who believe in the phrase, have a reason to smile as the juicy fruit has become 40 per cent cheaper in both wholesale and retail markets in major cities due to its bumper crop.
The wholesale price of apple grown in Himachal Pradesh has declined to Rs 1,000-1,100 a box of 20 kg this year, against Rs 1,600-1,700 a box last year.
A similar trend is seen in Jammu and Kashmir's apples too, traders data showed.
Accordingly, retail prices of apple in Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai have come down to Rs 60-70 per kg at present, against Rs 100-110 the same time last year.
As per the Himachal Pradesh Directorate of Horticulture, apple production in Himachal Pradesh is estimated to go up by more than two-and-a-half times at 6,35,000 tonnes in the current season (July-October), against 2,80,000 tonnes in the year-ago period.
While production in Jammu & Kashmir is likely to rise to 11,20,000 tonnes this season, from 700,000 tonnes last year, as per trade estimates.
"Surplus production of apple in bulk producing states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir this year on account of good rain and snowfall has lowered the price of the fruit," Dev Bhumi Cold Chain Ltd director Anil Dwivedi told PTI.
Kashmir Apple Merchant Association general secretary Metharam Kriplani said: "Due to good rains and snowfall, the cultivation of apple has increased handsomely."
Higher availability of apples has increased the flow of the fruit in the cold storage as well as in the wholesale markets in metro cities.
For instance, Adani Agrifresh Ltd, which has cold-chain storage units in Himachal Pradesh, is set to store 35,000 tonnes of apples this season, almost double than last year.
"Because of good production, we are targeting to store 35,000 tonne apples in our cold storage units in Shimla, Rampur, Rohroo and Theog," Adani Agrifresh deputy general manager Sanjay Mahajan said.
Meanwhile, the arrival of apples from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir is gradually increasing in Azadpur, Asia's biggest wholesale fruit market.
Kriplani said arrival of J&K delicious variety applies is likely to increase to 8 crore boxes this year, against 5 crore (50 million) boxes last year.
One box has 14 kg of apple.
So far in July, arrival of Shimla apples in Azadpur mandi has been 20,427 tonnes, while that of J&K apples 3,847 tonnes, the Delhi Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee data showed.
