Systemic Neglect Threatens To Cripple Kashmir’s Apple Sector, Officer Warns

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Sep, 2025) In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the once-thriving Apple industry is fighting for survival. Former Horticulture Department officer Mukhtar Ahmad Khan has sounded the alarm, pointing to years of neglect, crumbling infrastructure and treacherous roads that leave fruit rotting before it can reach markets.

According to Kashmir Media Service, former Area Marketing Officer Mukhtar Ahmad Khan has highlighted the deepening crisis in Kashmir’s apple industry, pointing to the severe lack of modern post-harvest infrastructure. He said the region’s most vital agricultural sector continues to suffer due to the absence of cold storage facilities, controlled atmosphere (CA) units, and fruit processing plants many of which are either non-existent or operate with severely limited capacity.

Khan noted that C-grade apples are routinely wasted because of the lack of processing units, while the Valley’s CA storage capacity is grossly inadequate unable to accommodate even a fraction of the nearly 10 lakh metric tonnes of A-grade apples produced annually.

“With no storage cushion and unreliable all-weather transport, the system collapses every year,” he warned, “as orchards are forced into distress sales due to intentional delays in fruit movement.”

He also addressed the introduction of high-density apple plantations, acknowledging that while they have boosted yields, they demand quicker harvesting and faster distribution.

Without sufficient storage and processing infrastructure, Khan warned, this sudden influx of produce becomes unmanageable particularly when transportation routes are deliberately obstructed.

Criticizing the absence of a comprehensive export policy and the lack of a Minimum Support price (MSP) or any form of price-support scheme, Khan said the system is tilted in favour of middlemen, who exploit growers by forcing them to sell at throwaway prices. “A robust MSP mechanism is urgently needed to shield farmers from heavy losses when market rates fall below production costs,” he emphasized.

Khan also raised serious concerns about the unchecked sale of pesticides in the region. He noted that substandard and overpriced chemicals have flooded the market, placing a heavy financial burden on farmers and causing significant environmental harm.

To address this, he urged the establishment of a dedicated Pesticide Regulatory Authority to oversee the quality and pricing of agricultural chemicals.

Highlighting another critical issue, Khan emphasized that meaningful reform must start with reliable road connectivity across fruit-producing regions especially during the harvest season.

“Improved roads and uninterrupted transport would enable growers to deliver their produce quickly and reduce post-harvest losses,” he said. “But as long as delays are deliberately created during peak harvest, farmers will remain at a disadvantage.”