Sopore: The second largest fruit market in South Asia located in North Kashmir’s Sopore town has lately emerged as a boon for fruit growers of Kashmir. From last few years the Fruit Mundi has considerably increased its operations which has attracted buyers from all across the India.
In order to know what needs to be done for the revival of downtrodden fruit business in Kashmir, The Kashmir Horizon talked to some fruit growers in Sopore.
“The Fruit Mundi Sopore has rendered us the opportunities which were once confined to Fruit Market Azadapur, Delhi only. The rates at which we would sell our apples in Delhi were not satisfying owing to ever-changing transportion charges and in Delhi Mundi the buyers have the monopoly over the market which means they will maximize their own profit rather than ours,” says Abdul Hamid a fruit grower in sopore, adding that “Now, when we send our apples to Sopore Fruit Mundi; the transport charges have come down which has led to the increase in profit margin. Also with the buyers of outside state coming directly to Kashmir means that we have to some extent got a say in deciding the value of our apples.”
The ‘backbone of Kashmir economy’ status to the fruit business is only a matter of talk and the same has been never recognized by the succesive Governments. “We have been long demanding the status of ‘Industry’ to otherwise ‘fruit business’ but our demands have been always ignored,” says Nazir Ahmad a constituent of fruit growers union at Fruit Mundi Sopore.
According to Nazir Ahmad the upliftment of Fruit Business in Kashmir is only possible when it gets the recognition of a Industry. “We have to compete with the global fruit markets and in absence of a status to fruit business we don’t exist anywhere,” says Nazir Ahmad, adding that “we don’t have any testing labs available in Kashmir which could help us in determining the quality of apples and thereof the scientific and natural requirements for improving the yeild and quality.”
The fruit growers also complained about official negligence and attributed the same to diminution of quality and production of apples. “We can hardly find any horticulture officials working on the ground. The department which is supposed to educate the fruit growers on various matters like pesticides and fertilizers has confined its operations to offices only,” says another fruit growers Zahoor Ahmad, adding that “we can only find the notices of horticulture department pasted on the electric poles and walls while as the officials of the department never show up on the ground.”
According to the fruit merchants and agents, the fruit market sopore which facilitates the transactions of tens of crores in a single day has been reduced to a ‘means of survival’. The role of fruit business in the state economy has never been highlighted by any government or social group so far. And if given an importantance the fruit business can prove as an economic boom for the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
They also say that it is just the production of apples that keeps on decreasing and increasing in this market but the improvement of any other sort has always remained stuck.
