COVID-19: Cherry no more on top for Kashmiri growers

Muhammad Zulqarnain Zulfi, in this article, reports on the plight of cherry growers from the Kashmir Valley who have had to bear the brunt of coronavirus-induced lockdown during peak harvest season. The cherry cultivators have dumped their stock in warehouses, hoping to find stability in the market later on, while urging the administration to raise the floor price on cherries to Rs 100 per kg, from the usual Rs 70-80 per kg.

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): Cherry growers in Kashmir are staring at massive losses during peak harvest season due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in the world. With nationwide lockdown and movement restrictions, most cherry-growers dumped their stock in warehouses, hoping to find stability in the market later on.

Cherry, the primary and delicate crop of the horticulture sector in Kashmir — ripens in May. However, this year, COVID-19 has affected the global market. Growers have urged the administration to raise the floor price on cherries to Rs 100 per kg, from the usual Rs 70-80 per kg.

The growers used to ship delicate cartons of the fruit to Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and other major cities via air cargo. This year, the markets in all big cities have been hit by the pandemic causing immense inconvenience to the cherry growers.

According to Kashmir's Horticulture Department, the Valley produces over 13,000 metric tonnes of cherry annually but this year the figure has crossed over 21,000 metric tonnes.

"Kashmir produces four varieties of cherries — Awwal Number, Double, Mishri and Makhmali. Mishri and Makhmali are largely exported to outside markets. Because of restrictions imposed this year due to abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, we were not able to attend to our fields regularly and nor did we have migrant workers for help. But still, the harvest was good. Unfortunately, we have no market as there is COVID-19 lockdown. We are not able to ship our fruit to Indian markets," Abdul Qayoom, a Cherry grower, told ETV Bharat.

Fruit-growers have sought immediate attention of the Jammu and Kashmir Government to do something at the earliest to save the horticulture industry from losses.

"In the past, we had embraced a market intervention scheme from the government, but that did not help us this time during the lockdown," Qayoom says, adding "Floor price on cherries should be increased to Rs 100 per kg owing to the current market situation."

Kashmiri fruit growers believe that the cold storage capacity in the Valley is inadequate compared to the requirement.

"Don't talk of cold storage, it is costly with a capacity of just 100,000 metric tonnes and everyone can't afford it. Moreover, there is also the risk of the market rate going down drastically. In the recent past, I have had to pay from my pocket," Farooq Ahmed, another Cherry grower said.

He further said, "the administration has failed to address our demands despite repeated requests. Thus, we are forced to sell the fruit at a fraction of their standard market price."

Recently, fruit-growers in J&K, and Apni Party (JKAP), demanded re-opening of the Mughal Road for transportation of cherry to other parts of India. Cherry-growers fear fruit worth billions of rupees will perish if this key transit route is not opened immediately.