Darakshan Bhat
Each year, as the fruit ripens, so does the conspiracy. Every autumn, the same narratives of victimhood resurface rather than encouraging introspection and reform. Climate change, infrastructure decay, and rumour-driven politics further complicate an already fragile supply chain.
A narrative is being subtly pushed that there is a conspiracy to arrest the popularity of Kashmiri apples, promote Himachali apples, and thereby harm Kashmir economically.
Analysing the opinions of various stakeholders and considering ground-level inputs reveals a completely different picture. The side story is:
This hybrid apple variety reaches its full productive potential starting from the third year. It is said that this season marks the first in Kashmir with full-scale production from most of the High-Density apple orchards. However, due to unpredictable weather conditions and irregular seasonal patterns, this hybrid apple might not be very suitable for the region. High temperatures, low rainfall, and unpredictable or untimely rains especially affect fruit ripening in South Kashmir.
Prematurely plucking apples before the harvest season makes the fruit brittle and less suitable for quality testing. Apples in this category must be carefully monitored, as middlemen often alter the original packing and mix different grades, which further impacts the quality and reputation of the produce.
Coming to the road blockade this time: Due to heavy rains, land/ mud sliding, and shooting stones, portions of NH 44 between Banihal and Udhampur were in a state of disuse for a couple of days during mid-September. This blockade was caused by nature’s fury, and the authorities had no control over it. Despite their best efforts, restoring the highway through such fragile mountains took days. Furthermore, when the highway was reopened, numerous trapped vehicles with passengers waiting to cross over were encountered. This further increased the waiting time for apple-laden trucks.
Now, let’s consider the role of Kashmiri middlemen. Many of these large traders also own cold storage facilities, which are a scarce resource in Kashmir. These Kashmiri middlemen aim to buy apples at the lowest prices and sell them at the highest to maximize their profits. Therefore, they choose the timing of their purchases and sales very carefully. Some growers even believe that these traders can create artificial panic by spreading rumours of road blockades to pressure farmers into selling their produce at much lower prices.
The limited availability of infrastructure, specifically Cold Storage, is the next issue. During Mufti Mohommad Syed’s tenure as CM, many reforms were introduced in the horticulture sector. Subsidies for cold storage were among these reforms. Several influential figures subsequently received the subsidy to build cold storage. Some are even suspected of obtaining the subsidy without constructing any cold storage. The total capacity of cold storage available is far below the demand, especially this year. To make matters worse, there is significant mismanagement at these facilities. Surprisingly, some storage facilities have limited or no air-conditioning facilities. Many owners and managers of these storages behave like feudal lords. During crises, instead of supporting apple growers or small traders, they primarily increase their storage charges. Many cold storage facilities are closed for two to three days each week.
The loading and unloading speed at these storage facilities is generally very slow, considering the need. All of these factors cause long queues of apple-laden trucks outside each cold storage. Some suggest this situation creates an opportunity for cold storage owners to buy apples from waiting trucks at relatively lower prices and store them for a suitable time before sale. Besides causing financial losses to smaller traders, such mismanagement at cold storage also leads to serious road traffic violations. Kashmiri businessmen and wealthy apple growers must realize that there is a serious need to establish more cold storage and make their services more affordable.
Let’s discuss fruit processing units in Kashmir. Unlike Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra, the business community in Kashmir has not invested much in fruit processing units there. As a result, very few of them are functional in the Kashmir valley. Therefore, transportation blockade remains a major point of failure for the large horticulture economy.
With the modern insurance system, it is quite feasible to insure each truckload of apples moving towards Delhi, including clauses for perishing due to a road blockade. Leaders of various apple growers or traders’ associations need to develop suitable win-win insurance policies in this regard.
Finally, let’s discuss the Himachal angle. Himachal was severely affected by rain, cloudburst, and landslides this time. All forms of transportation and communication were badly impacted. The losses were much worse than those in Kashmir. Still, no such conspiracy theory emerged from Himachal.
The theory of the so-called “apple conspiracy” is another eye-opener for common Kashmiris to move past and look inward for shortcomings to bring positive change to the region. It’s time to look at ground realities and examine them without any historical, regional, or political biases. May the blind appetite in Kashmir for conspiracy theories diminish for good.
(The author can be reached at Drkshn666@gmail.com)